Get your tractor ready!

What could be more enjoyable than a day of fun for the entire family? The Copper Days Festival in Encampment, Wyoming has been entertaining tractor enthusiasts since 1994. Beginning at 11 am on Saturday, September 11 and at 10:30 am on Sunday, September 12, the whole family can watch antique tractors pull heavy, weighted trailers to compete for the title of strongest tractor. Admission is free! Antique and old-time engines will be on display all afternoon, too. And don’t miss the tractors on parade Saturday morning at 10 am.

Tractors have been collected for decades by those who reminisce about simpler times when hard work was rewarded with an afternoon of friendly one-ups-man-ship. Enthusiasts come from all over the region to compete and share stories and memories with their children and grandchildren. Younger children watch in awe of the loud, rumbling engines and smokestacks and “Ol Betsy”! Tractor Pull activities will be held at the Encampment-Riverside Lions Club Arena along Highway 70 in Encampment. If you are interested in entering the tractor competition, please call Fred at 307-710-5660.

Take a spin around the dance floor at the family polka dance featuring The Hof Band on Saturday evening. The old-fashioned community dance will be held at the historic Grand Encampment Opera Hall in downtown Encampment. The dance will begin at 6 pm so there is plenty of time to turn a few circles on the traditional wood dance floor. Tickets to the dance are $20 per person and children 12 years and younger are free. Snacks and refreshments are included in the ticket price and there will be a cash bar. Tickets for the dance can be purchased in advance at The Red Wagon in Encampment and will also be available at the door.

The wildly successful Kids Art Workshop will be back again! The Platte Valley Arts Council invites children to paint, glue, stamp, and cut to create beautiful pieces of tractor-themed art to take home. The experience is always free and will be held Saturday from 12 pm to 2 pm near the pulling competition. Concessions will be available at the arena.

Feed your tractor obsession with the Toy Tractor Display and Collection Competition held Saturday afternoon from 12 pm to 2 pm. Gather your collection of vintage or new models and enter in the fun. Adults will enjoy this free exhibit as much as the kids! For details and how to enter, please call Stacy Crimmins at 307-329-7150.

Event sponsors include Wyoming Arts Council. The Chug ‘N Tug Tractor Club and Platte Valley Arts Council are excited to promote this fun weekend event. “Who can resist old tractors-- and a polka dance?” asked a competitor. “It has all the right elements—free, family, fun and food!”