Antique Farm Days begin Friday!

The Annual Southwestern Virginia Antique Farm Days and Power Festival will begin Friday, June 13th and continues through Sunday evening.

This event has been going strong since 2003. Each year the festival has added more and more attractions and exhibits to keep the event fresh and ever changing. This year should prove no different with the many added elements to this year’s festival.

One of the newest exhibits to be on display will be the 1923 Fairbanks Morse Model Y, Style V, 37.5 horsepower semi-diesel engine that once operated the Exchange Milling Co. in Rocky Mount, Va. up until the late 1950s when the head cracked and the mill owners Albert Hudson and Bill Clements could not find anyone to repair it.

This behemoth of an engine stands 10 feet tall with a 67 inch flywheel and weighs in at over one ton.

Another addition to this year’s festival will be on Friday evening when several highly modified and turbo-charged tractors, aka, smoker tractors will take to the pulling track for a evening of exhibition pulling. These tractors have modified V8 engines, pushing 500 cubic inches. When these monsters of iron and raw power, fire up you can actually feel the ground tremble under your feet.

On the tamer side of the event there will be a pet show sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service in Rocky Mount. For those with baking skills, there will be a baking contest with five categories, including  breads, cookies, cakes, decorated cakes, and pies. Entries will be judged on appearance, preparedness, and most of all taste. The winners in the various categories will be able to compete at a state level.

Event staples include antique tractor pulling, many exhibits of restored steam and “hit and miss” engines, as well as a lawn mower pull which is set for Sunday evening.

This festival is three days packed full of excitement and history.

Take a look at the photo gallery for this event: Set 1