DUDLEY — The tractors and farm equipment that helped fuel the growth of agriculture will be on display this weekend during the 22nd annual Antique Farm Equipment Days.
Sponsored by and in conjunction with the Grange and Eastern Carolina Vintage Farm Equipment Club, proceeds from the event will help provide scholarships for future farmers through the FFA scholarship program.
Admission is free to the event that will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, at the Wayne County Fairgrounds, 2801 U.S. 117 South.
There is no cost for people to display their antique farm equipment.
The equipment will include hit-and-miss engines, tractors and other kind of antique farm equipment.
Vendors will be selling crafts, merchandise, collectible and antiques.
A parade of power of power will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday.
There will activities and events for children, too.
“And we will have hot dogs and hamburgers on Saturday,” said club member Mac Kornegay. “Proceeds from that will go to our scholarships.”
It is a family friendly event and no alcoholic beverages are allowed, he added.
The only cost once a person pays once they enter the event is what they purchase to eat or from vendors.
A silent auction will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, closing at 1 p.m.
Items donated will help with scholarships, Kornegay said. Donations are appreciated, he added
The Eastern Carolina Vintage Farm Equipment Club annually provides five $1,000 scholarships, Kornegay said.
The scholarships are awarded to students who are enrolled in agricultural programs.
“They (FFA) pick the people,” Kornegay said. “We don’t do it.
The money is paid directly to the school, Kornegay said.
“We had over 300 tractors displayed last year,” he said. “We had antique engines, all kinds of stuff and then when we did the silent auction and had vendors and that worked out real well. Most of it, we asked for it to be crafts or farm related.
“Stuff for yards sales, we don’t want that. We don’t charge for them to sell, but most of them give us donations.”
The Eastern Carolina Farm Equipment Club was organized on Feb. 17, 2001, with 45 people in attendance — 35 individuals, both men and women, joining the club at that meeting.
The purpose of the club is to preserve the area’s agricultural heritage by restoring and exhibiting antique farm equipment in an effort to educate the citizens of eastern North Carolina.
The club provides exhibits and demonstrations for students in the public school system upon invitation.
The general membership meets monthly on the first Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m.
For more information, visit oilslingers.com
