WEEKEND BEST BET: Dakin Dairy Day Festival

Lovers of milk, cheese and other dairy products will soon have a day to celebrate.

In honor of national dairy month, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 7, the Dakin Dairy Festival will take over Dakin Dairy Farms, located at 30771 Betts Road, Myakka City.

The festival will feature music by local musicians, such as Matt Walden Paige Merriman and Alex Dakin. The music will last all day.

Farm owners Karen and Jerry Dakin also added new attractions for their younger audience this year.

"We're just a bunch of big 5-year-olds," Karen Dakin said. "We want to have something here for everyone."

Waterslides spanning 12 and 35 feet, and a 30-foot Slip ’N’ Slide will help cool down children before they head to the corn crib — a sandbox-style area made of corn pieces.

Proceeds from the event's 50/50 raffle — in which participants can win seasonal gift shop items with the purchase of $1 raffle tickets — will benefit Harvest House Transitional Centers, an organization that provides discounted drug and alcohol treatment and other services for homeless families.

For more information on the festival, read the extended story at www.yourobserver.com/news/east-county/Front-Page/0604201434517/Annual-festival-celebrates-national-dairy-month.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].