Fire up the tractor because the Ionia Fall Festival is back
Pumpkins, scarecrows and other seasonal décor will welcome the change in seasons at the Ionia Fall Festival.
On Saturday, Sept. 18, after a year’s hiatus, there will again be a day full of games, special displays, hay rides, live music, demonstrations, crafters, and vendors returning to the hamlet.
Tractors from all over the region will also arrive to participate in the 23th annual community-wide event.
“It is great family entertainment,” said Mary Twardokus, who is in charge of coordinating many festival favorites for this year’s event.
The Ionia Methodist Church is celebrating its 190th anniversary in 2021 and as festival sponsor hosts much of the event at its Elton Road location. Festival proceeds support the church and its outreach programs in local communities and beyond.
“We kept it alive in 2020,” said John Bennett of the parade numbering about 18 tractors that took place in September 2020 but without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The popular midday tractor parade joined the Ionia Fall Festival in 2004 with 27 tractors and grew to about 135 in 2019, thanks to the oversight of Dick Belding and the late Bob McCombs. This year Bennett has stepped in to coordinate the tractor parade and hopes to have over 100 participate. The local farmer has himself driven a tractor in the parade for the past six festivals.
“We welcome drivers from any distance,” said Bennett.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. Vehicles do not need to be antique to be parade-worthy, and a few riding lawn mowers may even join in the procession. The crowd-pleasing parade winds through the otherwise quiet community beginning at 1 p.m.
Bennett’s tractors, a 45-year-old Oliver model 1800 and a large Minneapolis, will be driven by family and friends as he expects to be too busy to climb behind the wheel this year.
“We’ll have every color tractor,” Bennett said.
The tractors line up early in the morning on the field next to the U.S. Post Office on County Road 14, and the public is welcome to visit with tractor owners and learn more about the vehicles. Bennett pointed out that Upstate Milk, based in Batavia, is supplying free milk to the drivers.
“Tractors move slow,” says Bennett, from three to four miles an hour.
That allows plenty of time to watch them pass as they follow a meandering route through the center of Ionia along Elton Road and County Road 14 before returning to the tractor field. Depending on the number of tractors, the parade can take about an hour and a half.
No need for festival-goers to pack a lunch. The day kicks off at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and doughnuts at the Chow Hut tent. As the day progresses a chicken barbecue begins at 11:30 a.m. and the Chow Hut serves up hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages, and chili from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
How about something sweet? Take a chance at the Dessert Wheel, a popular festival game of chance, offering plenty of homemade pastries as prizes.
Other festival attractions include the display of the Ionia Quilt, made by the Ionia Women's Club members. The quilt, which depicts the history of Ionia and various landmarks around the community, will be hanging inside the church’s Fellowship Hall. The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office will again provide Operation Safe Child IDs and bring its K-9 unit.
The Ionia Festival also is the perfect occasion to look skyward. Across from the Ionia Fire Department on County Road 14 is the Wolk Observatory, the home of the Astronomy Section of Rochester Academy of Science. Hayrides will provide an opportunity to visit the grounds and observatory.
This year’s festival is dedicated to Kathryn Belding and Robert Price who were valued volunteers at past festivals, welcoming and registering tractor drivers.
Things to know
For questions on the tractors and equipment, contact John Bennett at 585-657-6245. Ionia is located just off Route 64 and north of Routes 5 and 20. The Ionia Methodist Church is at 2120 Elton Road. The festival takes place rain or shine. For more information https://ioniaumc.org/.