The 97th annual Meridian Dairy Days celebration kicked off Wednesday at Storey Park, and two dairy princesses will represent the community throughout the week's festivities.This year's event is themed "Red, White and Moo," celeb rating both America's 250th anniversary and Meridian's deep agricultural roots.The Dairy Princess pageant has been a part of Dairy Days since 1949. Following tradition, two princesses were crowned this year: a Junior Dairy Princess and a Senior Dairy Princess.WATCH the Dairy Princesses get crowned at this year's Dairy Days Princess Pageant Dairy Days princesses crowned ahead of Meridians 97th celebrationAurora Hodges was named this year's Junior Dairy Princess. Her family has a legacy with the Dairy Days pageant."I thought of my grandma and my mom because they were both past junior princesses. So I was like 'Oh wait! I'm carrying on the legacy.' And I was also really happy," Hodges said.Sophie Workman was crowned the 2026 Senior Dairy Days Princess. She said the pageant required a great deal of hard work, but that she learned a lot from the process."My first reaction was like 'I'm so happy for all the other girls...they did amazing.' And then I was like...I was so surprised," Workman said.The contestants competed in several categories, including an interview, a prepared speech and an impromptu question. They also showcased puzzles they created to educate the public on the health benefits of dairy and the importance of keeping the industry alive.RELATED | EVENT GUIDE: What to know before heading to the 97th Meridian Dairy DaysHodges and Workman will represent Meridian throughout the week as the celebration continues through the carnival, the livestock shows, Friday's demolition derby, and Saturday's parade down Main Street, starting at 11 a.m.Idaho News 6 will be covering Dairy Days events all week. You can keep up with all the events by checking out our event guide.This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less