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Harmilda at Five Point ParkMilk Center of the World
Harvard is the self-proclaimed "Milk Center of the World." The title is used to celebrate the large number of dairy farms once in the area. An annual Milk Day Festival, held the first Saturday of June, draws over 90,000 people to a week long celebration. It is the longest continuously running community festival in Illinois.
The photo above is of Five Points Park in the center of Harvard. The fiberglass holstein cow is Harmilda (HARvard MILk DAy), the town's mascot. Behind her is a mural of other dairy cows.
Harmilda has been a fiberglass fixture in Harvard since 1966. In 1991, a plan to move her from the downtown intersection sparked a protest by townspeople and children carrying signs that read "Don't Mooove Harmilda." She still stands at the "y" intersection of two downtown streets.
Milk Days