A few sights from today's events.

Canadian-made Cockshutts all in a row, ready for our Annual Show starting tomorrow.

The Pioneer Acres Baking Bee is on Wednesday, August 9, A great time to meet other Volunteers. Contact Dorothy at 403-935-4357 or curator@pioneeracres.ab.ca for more info.

Completely quiet on a foggy morning now that our annual show for 2016 is finished. Many thanks to all our volunteers and we hope to see you all again.

Two days or our annual show are past but if you haven't made it out yet there's still Sunday to come. An amazing collection of Ford tractors and equipment and almost everything else you can think of.

Preparations well underway for our Annual Show featuring Ford starting tomorrow. Hope to see you there

September 10 & 11, 2016 Once again, we are combining our steam and stationary engine weekends. They have been separate events for many years but the combination of the two worked so well in the past couple of years that we are doing it again this year. If you love steam, you will love this weekend. If you love stationary engines, you will love this weekend. Does it get any better? We have stationary and portable steam engines and a 65 HP Case steam tractor, too. With Pioneer Acres' reputation for steam, we even attract volunteers who bring in their own steam engines just to show them off. Ditto with stationary engines. Many people find small stationary engines to be an inexpensive and manageable hobby. They are a way to work on an engine in your garage without having to deal with the mass of spaghetti under the hood of your car. We often have horses on the grounds at the same time as we have live steam but this weekend will be horse-free so we can blow the big whistle on the top of the steam building as much as we want! There will be plenty of opportunity to get up close and personal. You will definitely want to ride around the grounds on the back of the Case steamer. This marvel of engineering from 100 years ago makes a racket when it's moving and is spellbinding to watch. We don't run it very often, but when we do it attracts a crowd. Come by early and you can watch the process of getting it started. It's not quite as easy as turning the key! In contrast to the Case tractor, the E. Leonard stationary engine is so quiet when it's operating that you can easily talk to the operators when you are standing right next to it. You get the feeling that you are watching TV without the sound turned on. Watching the giant flywheel spin is mezmorizing and the exposed connecting rod and crankshaft will make you wonder how something that big and heavy can move that fast. Of course, not much would be happening without a boiler. It takes steam to make the engines move and it takes a boiler to make steam. To the first-time visitor, it just looks like throwing logs on a fire but it's actually much more complex than that. There an ongoing balancing act between not enough heat and too much heat, not enough water and too much water, not enough pressure and too much pressure, and so on. This weekend is the ideal opportunity to go beyond being a tourist and actually learn something! Farm life and industry as it was in the early 1900’s would not have been possible without engines to provide mechanical power. Stationary engines pumped water, lifted grain in elevators, operated blacksmith and woodworking shops, produced electricity and performed a host of other tasks. Even though Pioneer Acres has over 100 engines on site, in previous years several members brought out their own trailer-loads of engines. Included among them were a few hit-and-miss engines, that are sure to fascinate anyone with an interest in mechanics. Stationary engines are an accessible hobby for a lot of people. Depending on what you are interested in, you can easily rebuild an engine in your garage or basement. Most engines require nothing more than a set of wrenches and some screwdrivers to repair. On the other hand, the Fairbanks-Morse with a six-foot flywheel is not something that you could normally have at home. That's why you need to visit Pioneer Acres! We have several large engines that need some work. Maybe you would like to become a member and help us restore some old iron.

August 5, 6 & 7, 2016 "The Old Time Show Where There's Always Something New" 2016 featuring: Ford Tractors and Equipment Enjoy Three Days of Unique Exhibits and Demonstrations The following is a list of events for the 2016 show: - Daily Demonstrations - Parade of Power, Antique Car & Truck Parade, and Feature Parade. - Field Demonstrations including horse-drawn plowing, cultivating, and binder work; steam-driven plowing and threshing. - Pioneer World Exhibits including crafts, and baking. - Blacksmith and Wheelwrights Shop. - Antique Tractor Pulls, Slow Races and Barrel Races. Other Events and Exhibits: -Trade Fair booths open from 9:00 to 5:00 all three days. For information about exhibiting at the trade fair, please visit: http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/events/tradefairexhibitors.aspx - All regular exhibits including Pioneer World, Long House, Crown School, Granlea Beef Ring, Ron Carey Building, Truck / Car Building, Ray Howden Building, Stationary Engine Building, Blacksmith Shop, Wheelwrights, etc. - Church Service: Sunday 9:30 am. - New: 6,000 sq ft of dust-free concrete floor for the trade fair! Food Services - Pancake Breakfast: Friday, 8:00 to 10:00 am; Saturday & Sunday, 7:00 to 10:00 am. - Regular concessions throughout the day. - Steak Supper: Friday and Saturday night at 5:30 pm. - Concessions on site operated by the Irricana Lions Club. Admission for the Show: - Adults $12.00 - Ages 6 to 12 $8.00 - Under 6 Free - Seniors' Special rate on Friday Only $10.00 - Free Parking Camping: - Convenient next door camping available. - Un-serviced sites @ $20.00 for the entire weekend. - Free shuttle between the campground and the show gate.

As in recent years, you can come out with your tractor to demonstrate your tractor pulling prowess. We will be running a small tractor pull in the afternoon for those members who want to test out their equipment early in the season. Because the spring tractor pull is less busy than the one at the annual show, it's a great way to meet some of our members. Come out and spend the day with us.