WESTLOCK — With its winter renovations now complete, the Canadian Tractor Museum in Westlock will celebrate the start of summer hours with a free community barbecue and demonstrations of some vintage machines this Victoria Day.
The event is slated to run from noon to about 3 p.m. on Monday, May 20. Secretary-treasurer Barb Kostiw said free hot dogs and cake will be served over the lunch hour, followed by the rest of the day’s festivities.
That includes some bouncy castles for little kids and some games for older children out in the yard. The barrel train will also be running so that kids can have a ride around the grounds.
"It’s probably going to be a more fun day for adults this year,” Kostiw said, noting some of the demonstrations that will be happening.
She said they will be starting some of their stationary engines this year, including the 1910 Bessemer.
“It is an industrial size stationary engine ... It’s the biggest stationary engine that we have,” said Kostiw.
She noted that stationary engines act as a precursor to electric generators, providing the power to run the mechanics of another piece of immobile equipment, such as grain grinders or water pumps.
“We want to put them to work on that day so people can say, ‘Oh, that’s what that does. That’s how that works.’ It will be a great opportunity.”
She indicated they will also be running the vintage sawmill and using it to cut some wood, noting that they’ve used it once or twice in the past.
There will also be a threshing demonstration with the old John Deere Model 830 tractor.
The Victoria Day event is when the Canadian Tractor Museum transitions to being open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Over the winter, the museum is open just three days a week — from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays, as well as 1p.m.-8 p.m. on Thursdays, which provides families with an opportunity to drop in. Admission is by donation.
This past winter saw the museum undergo extensive renovations, including adding new offices, a more open concept with several display cabinets, a new location for the sponsor/donation wall and several accessibility upgrades.
Kostiw indicated those renovations were completed around the end of March, but it probably took another month to clean up all the dust and get everything cleaned up and put away.
-with files from Kristine Jean
