Threshermen's Reunion Opens Today

The 63rd annual Manitoba Threshermen's Reunion and Stampede opens today, just outside Austin.

Marketing Coordinator Elliot Sims says this year's main feature is the 180th anniversary of John Deere equipment.

"We've partnered with Enns Brothers to put on a great display of the company's progressions and innovations in agriculture," he says, "We have everything from horse-drawn equipment from as far back as the 1880s, right up to modern day, cutting-edge technology, with John Deere providing a sneak peak at their 2018 pre-production combine. There's only a couple of them in the province."

Sims says the Reunion resonates with a wide range of people.

"We have a number that come year after, year after, year," he says, "We have others that come once every five years, or every ten years. Then, we have some people in Manitoba, they remember coming with their grandparents when they were younger, but they take a while to come back, and they bring their kids. So it's become really a family tradition, to experience this at least once in your lifetime. to have a much better appreciation for where we come from."

Sims is also excited about tomorrow night between 9:30 or 10 o'clock, when they feature Canada's largest-ever steam engine sparkler show, to celebrate the nation's 150th anniversary.

"This is a traditional event that happens across North America at pioneer heritage shows," he says, "And what you actually do is put a little bit of sawdust into the firebox of the steam engine, and then it comes out of the smoke stack like a giant sparkler that you'd see on a birthday cake. So it really creates some very cool shapes and sounds, so it's a really fantastic, and very artistic, thing to see."

Five steam engines will be part of the sparkler show.

The Reunion continues until Sunday night.