The 17th Annual WMT Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade coming to Waukon and Allamakee County this Sunday through Wednesday
The 17th Annual WMT Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade, sponsored by News Radio 600 WMT AM, will be traversing the Allamakee County area early next week, with Waukon as its central point of departure and arrival and the Allamakee County Fairgrounds being the staging area Sunday through Wednesday, June 12-15. Organizers of this year's event expect 480 pre-registered participating tractors on the ride this year, with hundreds of other individuals supporting those drivers.
For those not familiar with the Tractorcade, many people compare it to RAGBRAI, only with tractors. The event provides an opportunity for tractor collectors and enthusiasts to celebrate their hobby and farm heritage together.
PLANNED ROUTES
Rides scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week will feature an anticipated 480 tractors departing from the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in the morning and returning in the late afternoon/early evening, following a different route (see accompanying maps surrounding this article) each of the three ride days. Those routes have been predetermined through the cooperation of State, County and City law enforcement officials, as well as the Iowa Department of Transportation, and will be clearly marked with signs.
Local motorists are asked to please use care when coming upon the tractor parade and to consider their travel destinations according to the planned routes depicted in the surrounding maps. Tractors will be making brief stops for breaks and lunch in various designated locations throughout the depicted routes, with community groups and businesses being scheduled to provide designated meals and break refreshments during those stops.
The tractors will depart each day in six different groups ranging in number from 40 to 100 tractors and traveling at speeds of 10-13 miles per hour, and those groups will depart at staggered times throughout each morning between the times of 6:30 and 10 a.m. Each day's ride is expected to take place "rain or shine," with the exception of a severe weather event.
PUBLIC INVITED
The general public is invited to view the tractors each day of the event, including their departure from and return to the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in the morning and evening, respectively, according to the schedule detailed later in this article. Tractors will not be at the fairgrounds during the middle of the day, but the public is invited to walk through the parked tractors and visit with drivers each evening after 6 p.m.
ROUTES DETAILED
The event begins in Waukon Sunday, June 12, as tractors begin to arrive that afternoon for registration and an evening dinner and driver’s meeting to review the many safety rules that govern Tractorcade. Sunday's events will also include an auction that will benefit the Allamakee County 4-H program.
The first tractors will roll out for the Monday, June 13 ride at approximately 6:45 a.m. from the Allamakee County Fairgrounds, heading south through Waukon on Allamakee Street and Rossville Road to State Highway 76 South and traveling through Rossville, Postville, Clermont, Ossian and the Freeport area near Decorah before returning to Waukon via County Road A52 and ending up back at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds. Monday's ride will cover just over 80 miles, with tractors returning to the fairgrounds between 4 and 6 p.m. Monday evening, after all the tractors have returned and the drivers have been fed, a night of musical entertainment by the Grassrun Band is planned, with the public invited to attend and enjoy the music and tractors.
Day two of the rides, Tuesday, June 14, will cover approximately 79 miles and will see the parade of tractors begin to leave the fairgrounds starting at 6:40 a.m., heading north on Highway 9 to Lycurgus Road on the way to New Albin before making their way along the eastern edge of the county through Lansing and Harpers Ferry. From Harpers Ferry, the tour will venture down through Yellow River Forest to Highway 76 before traveling down through Waterville and back to Waukon on Elon Road (County Road A52) to arrive back at the fairgrounds between 4 and 6 p.m.
A much shorter partial day of just 33 miles makes up the final day of the Tractorcade Wednesday, June 15, with departure from the fairgounds at 7 a.m. and a route heading north on State Highway 76 that will take them to Upper Iowa Resort and Rental near Dorchester before heading east on County Road A26 and then back to State Highway 9 via Lycurgus Road. Entering Waukon via Highway 9, the tractors will arrive back at the fairgrounds between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., with a final wrap-up rally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon before the Tractorcade officially comes to an end.
For additional information and online maps of this year’s ride, log on to the WMT website at www.wmtradio.com and follow the links to the Tractorcade button. Additional information can also be found by contacting WMT at 319-395-0530.
