Antique Farm Equipment Days set to return to fairgrounds

Antique Farm Equipment Days will feature antique farming equipment, including tractors, mowers and engines, as well as other antique equipment, such as gas-powered washing machines, said Mac Kornegay, Eastern North Carolina Vintage Farm Equipment club treasurer.

Past shows have had as many as 200 tractors, plus equipment dating as far back as the 1930s.

The event allows the club to showcase farming equipment and educate about the old farming ways. Vendors will have antiques and collectables.

There is no cost to register, with the farm equipment setup taking place on May 4, Kornegay said.

The antique show on Saturday will begin with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. that will be followed by a parade of power at 10 a.m. when antique tractors will line up and parade around the fairgrounds, with the equipment being announced, Kornegay said.

There will also be pedal tractor rides and a barrel train ride after the opening ceremonies, he said.

Raffle tickets will be sold for $1 with profits going toward five $1,000 N.C. Future Farmers of America, he said. The winners will not be selected by the farm equipment club but rather the state, he said.

There will be a silent auction, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with donated items and sales that will also help with scholarships.

“We try to get businesses from our local area to donate items to our silent auction, plus club members and anybody else who wants to donate anything to help with money for the FFA scholarships,” Kornegay said.

In the past, people have donated bushels of sweet potatoes, a porch swing, small engines, mowers, even a jar of pickles, said Kenneth Price, Eastern North Carolina Vintage Farm Equipment president.

“You just never know what will show up,” he said. “It would be nice if people to come to the auction, that way they can see everything.”

Food and drinks, including hotdogs, hamburgers and sodas, will be available Saturday.

Wayne County is not the only place the farm equipment club showcases their vintage farm equipment, Kornegay said.

The Eastern North Carolina Vintage Farm Equipment Club of Goldsboro also does shows at C.B. Aycock High School, in Seven Springs, and at the N.C. State Fair, he said.

The farm equipment club also displays their vintage farm equipment at several Christmas parades around Wayne County, he said.

The Eastern Carolina Farm Equipment club was organized in 2001, with 45 people. The purpose of the club is to preserve eastern North Carolina’s agricultural heritage by restoring and exhibiting antique farm equipment to educate area residents. The financial goals of the club is to provide scholarships to students who have an interest in pursuing agricultural careers.

For more information, call 919-738-3082.