McLouth’s Threshing Bee coming this weekend

Highlights

Friday

• An antique and classic tractor ride premiere benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 7 p.m. Jeremy Nichols will perform at a patio dance at 8 p.m.

Saturday

• Steam threshing at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., as well as a parade of power at 1:30 p.m.

• ATV pull at 1 p.m.; drive-in car show and kids pedal tractor pull, open to ages 3-12, at 5 p.m.

• County Road 5 performs at 6 p.m. and Cubby Lane performs at 9 p.m. at the stage at the main track. Admission is $5, and coolers may be brought to the grounds for $5. Glass bottles are prohibited.

It’s not a stretch to say Gary Royer has been involved in the McLouth Threshing Bee pretty much all of his life.

Royer, the current president of the annual festival, was born in 1966 and he’s attended the bee pretty much every year since he was 2 or 3.

He and other threshing bee organizers are preparing for this year’s edition, Friday and Saturday, a continuation of a tradition that started in 1957.

Royer hopes for a strong turnout this year. The threshing bee traditionally is a three-day event, but it’s been scaled back this year after a tough weekend in 2008.

“We tried to shave some expenses, because last year the 104-degree weather didn’t help and the fuel prices held a lot of people in,” Royer said. “But we don’t have anything scheduled for Sunday.”

The tractor pull is a big draw, but Royer said there are other events to check out both days with threshing, saw mill and blacksmith demonstrations.

“I hope we have some people show up,” Royer said. “I think there will be a lot of stuff for people to see.”