The 13th annual Halifax County Heritage and Antique Machinery Festival will be held May 6-8 at the Halifax County Fairgrounds. 

In addition to antique tractors and working farm machinery exhibits, tractor pulls and quarter scale tractor pulls are planned throughout the day on Saturday. Old-fashioned children’s games and local gospel and bluegrass music will also be on the schedule of events.     

As in years past, the exhibit hall will be a center of activity where exhibitors will display antique tools and horse-drawn equipment; aviation and tobacco exhibits as well as other displays of the past may also be viewed there. Craft vendors will also set up in the exhibit hall with birdhouses, hand- painted saws, jewelry, T-shirts, handbags, candles, needlecrafts, antique coins and linens.

Virginia Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Coordinator Sonya Ferguson will be on hand again this year with a quail hatching exhibit, a popular attraction at last year’s festival. Ferguson has ordered five dozen quail eggs for the exhibit. 

“The eggs are ordered from GQF Manufacturing, a company specializing in birds, and we anticipate an 85 to 90 percent hatch rate,” she said.  According to Ferguson, eggs will be placed in an incubator on Friday and remain there overnight; by Saturday morning baby chicks will begin to hatch. 

“Adults and children of all ages enjoyed the exhibit last year, and we are excited to be returning this year,” she said. Ferguson says the baby quails will be kept for several weeks before being purchased by Falkland Farms. 

Outside vendors will set up around the Midway of the Fairgrounds with great finds for bargain hunters, including antique furniture, flags, plants and jewelry. Others will offer handmade toys, woodcrafts, new tractor parts and lawn equipment. Halifax County Ruritan club members will be cooking favorite festival foods each day, and the South Boston Lions Club will serve homemade ice cream all weekend.

The car clubs will hold a cruise-in, showcasing some of the area’s finest restored classics. Model As and vintage race cars will also be on display.  On Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m., the second annual Historic Racing Celebration will be featured at South Boston Speedway. Admission to the Heritage Festival May 8 also allows entry to the racing event at the speedway. 

Festival times are Friday from noon-9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.  Admission is $5 per person (per day).  For more information visit www.halifaxcountyheritagefestival.org.