by Kalynn Sawyer Helmer
AgriNews Staff Writer
AVONMORE – Brent MacIntyre of the Roxmore Agricultural Society and Avonmore Fair Committee is spearheading a tractor parade for Canada 150 celebrations at the Avonmore Fair on Sun., July 23.
“I based the idea of the parade on farmers being the backbone of Canada for the country’s first 150 years. The tractor has been a constant on farms for almost two-thirds of this time and will continue to be so,” said MacIntyre.
MacIntyre encourages participants from all over Stormont Dundas and Glengarry to register and join in.
“We would ideally like to see 150 tractors participate, but as a farmer myself, I recognize that variables on the farm sometimes sidetrack the best laid plans. No matter the number we hope that all participants will enjoy the camaraderie of gathering antiques and modern tractors together. Hopefully this will also show a brief history of the evolution of Canadian farming to the general public as well,” he continued .
Any tractors from antiques to modern machines are welcome and will be arranged in the parade according to brand and colour. MacIntyre hopes to see tractors from a number of generations and decades to create a walk through agricultural machine history. He also encourages people to decorate their tractors with Canadian themes for the parade.
The tractors will start at Tagwi Secondary School and participants should arrive between 10 and 11 a.m. The procession plans to arrive at Avonmore Fairgrounds around noon.
Spectator bleachers will be available on the fairgrounds and parking will be free.
After the parade, the tractors will be parked on the fairgrounds for attendees to explore and participants will have the opportunity to enjoy a barbecue lunch.
Registration will be available on www.avonmorefair.ca as well as more information on the event. MacIntyre said he is encouraging participants to pre-register so the planning committee can get an idea of numbers for the barbecue.
