Eau Claire's Pioneer Days features raffles, tractor pulls, RV races and numerous other events. | Pioneer Days/Facebook
Eau Claire's Pioneer Days features raffles, tractor pulls, RV races and numerous other events. | Pioneer Days/Facebook
This year’s annual Pioneer Days festival in Eau Claire has come and gone but is not forgotten.
“It brings the families together,” event organizer Daryl Dehnke told WEAU.com this week. “We’re family. You’ll see kids around and around here that are one, two, three, four years old. You’ll see some men walking around here at 80, 90 years old and older. So what it is, it covers all ages.”
The event was held Aug. 12-14, with this year’s festival marking the 150th birthday of the city of Eau Claire.
The final days of the event were rated by some as spectacular—featuring raffles, tractor pulls, RV races, and a special historic artifact that is one of only a few in the world. Visitors were able to see a Phoenix Log Hauler brought in for the festival. Built more than a century ago in 1911, that specific log hauler was used until 1928 and is one of only eight left in the world, and one of only three that still operates.
The Pioneer Days event originally started in 1963 as an occasion for friends to get together to repair and compare old engines and parts. It slowly grew into a place to show off certain wares to a wider and wider audience, eventually becoming an event that includes food, entertainment and prizes. Today, the festival also includes performers and an annual tractor show.
Alerts Sign-up