Skip to content

Antique tractors rumble into Cloverdale

Competitors driving pre-1960 tractors square off at Fraser Downs Aug. 3
68051cloverdaleWEB-Tractors3-BJ-Aug4
Cloverdale's Antique Tractor Pull takes place Aug. 3 this year

Owners of antique tractors are coming from as far away as Merritt, B.C., to compete in this year’s Cloverdale Blueberry Festival Antique Tractor Pull.

The Aug. 3 event – one week earlier than the Cloverdale Blueberry Festival itself – is a day of mighty metal competition at Fraser Downs Racetrack and Casino.

Competitors driving pre-1960 tractors will square off in 11 different weight categories, from machines that weigh a tidy 2,500 pounds to vintage behemoths tipping the scales at 12,500 pounds.

Each tractor is hooked up to a sled full of weights, which rises higher and higher in the air as the tractor moves further forward. The number of tractors competing depends on the weight class.

Organizer Vern Keller is a John Deere man.

The long-time resident of Clayton lives at the end of John Deere Lane, a curving driveway that runs to a garage and outbuilding on his acreage.

That’s where he keeps collection of vintage John Deere tractors. He also owns a couple of classic cars, including a white, 1959 Cadillac convertible, complete with pristine whitewall tires, original black and white stripped upholstery and gleaming tail fins that veer off into infinity.

Keller says he’ll be entering his 8,500-pound and 7,500 pound, and possibly his 5,500 pound tractors in the competition.

The festivities at the Fraser Downs Racetrack and Casino start at 11 a.m. with live entertainment, and the competition gets underway at noon.

It’s an all ages event, and it’s free to attend. There will be a barbecue.

For more details, call Keller at 604-308-2443.