About This Festival

The 41st Annual Vintage Tractor and Farm Festival is a family-friendly antique farm show held July 11-13, 2025, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point, Indiana. It features a wide variety of activities centered around vintage farming equipment and rural heritage, making it fun for all ages.

Surrounding Area and Vibe

The festival takes place at the Lake County Fairgrounds, located at 889 S Court Street in Crown Point, a city in northern Indiana's Lake County. The fairgrounds offer ample space with outdoor and indoor facilities, giving the event a relaxed, small-town fair atmosphere with a focus on agricultural history and community. Attendees enjoy a welcoming, educational, and nostalgic vibe celebrating rural life and old farming traditions.

History and Founding

This event is organized by the South Lake County Agricultural Historical Society and has a strong local heritage. It is the 41st iteration, indicating it began in the early 1980s. The festival was founded to preserve and showcase antique farm machinery and customs while providing family-focused entertainment and education about historical agriculture.

Activities and Attractions

The festival features numerous interactive and visual attractions:

  • Antique tractors, cars, trucks, steam traction engines, and gas engines on display and in operation
  • Demonstrations of old farming techniques: corn shelling and grinding, wheat threshing and baling, corn shredding
  • Operational sawmill and shingle mill, buzz saws
  • Tractor dynamometer testing
  • Working blacksmiths, horse shoeing (Saturday and Sunday)
  • Large model railroad displays including a Christmas village with many moving parts
  • Petting zoo, kids' crafts, bounce houses, and kids’ tractor pulls and rides for younger visitors
  • Flea market and artisan market for vintage and handmade items
  • Car and truck show (Rusted Knuckles) on Saturday
  • Food vendors featuring food trucks and homemade pies
  • Chain saw wood carving and wood carvers
  • Beekeepers exhibit
  • Horseshoes tournament and bags tournament Friday and Saturday nights

Rough Schedule (subject to change)

  • Gates open at 9:00 AM daily with opening ceremonies at 9:00 AM on the first day
  • Operational exhibits and activities run from around 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
  • Kiddie tractor pulls and train rides midday and weekends
  • Tractor pull events and steam engine displays throughout the day
  • Car and truck show all day Saturday
  • Evening tournaments (bags) Friday and Saturday nights
  • Horse shoeing demonstrations and blacksmith demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday
  • Parades of power with tractors and steam engines at 2:00 PM Saturday and Sunday

Admission

Admission is by donation, generally around $5-$8 per person. Children under 10 or 15 years are often free with a paid adult.

This event offers a rich experience for anyone interested in agricultural history, vintage machinery, and family-friendly rural festival entertainment in a welcoming community setting.