Dancing, rodeos, classic cars, and even a world record attempt. Those are some of the things you can expect to see at this year's 62nd annual Threshermen's Reunion at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin, which kicks off Thursday Reunion Vice President Elliot Sims says they're excited for this year's edition of the event, noting they have about a thousand volunteers helping out, and some have been working at the site for months. He anticipates their hard work will pay off, calling this year's reunion the largest ever. 

Elliot Sims

"We're hoping for about 15,000 over the four days of Thursday through the 31st. There's a lot to see, you can't take it all in in one day if you really want to see it properly. We're hoping everyone will come out. With all the new displays coming up this year it's the largest ever Threshermen's Reunion and Stampede. If you haven't been in a number of years, or you haven't been at all, this is the year to come."

The event had an informal kick off Wednesday night, as the RCMP Musical Ride took place in Austin. However, the main reunion starts Thursday, and Sims says the weekend will be full of activities. He notes a trade show, and different activities will take place each day, and every night they'll have a rodeo and a dance to wrap up the day's celebrations.

One of the main events of this year's edition of the Threshermen's Reunion will be an attempt to set the world record for the most threshing machines running simultaneously. While they had set a goal of 125 machines last year, Sims says it's now looking like almost 150. They're encouraging others with vintage pre-1950s threshing machines to join their attempt on Sunday. While they hope to set a world record, Sims says they're also helping out a couple of great causes.

"The Harvesting Hope World Record to help the hungry is a joint partnership between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the Manitoba Agricultural Museum. Proceeds from Harvesting Hope will be split between the two organizations."

Sims says it's going to be another great reunion, noting he's already hearing from people coming from as far as Alberta, and even the U.S. He notes they open the gates at 7:30 each day, and tickets are $15.