Max Armstrong of "This Week in Agribusiness," a show on RFD-TV detailing challenges of the agriculture industry, will be a featured guest in the tractor show parade Friday, September 18. The parade will begin in Mackinaw City Friday morning, cross the Mackinac Bridge, pass through downtown St. Ignace, and continue on to Kewadin Shores Casino, where tractors will be displayed for the public all weekend. It is free of charge to spectators. (Photograph courtesy of Max Armstrong) More than 800 vintage tractors from 1965 and earlier will come into Mackinaw City and St. Ignace beginning Thursday, September 17. After crossing the Mackinac Bridge Friday, September 18, the tractors will pass through downtown St. Ignace and stop at Kewadin Shores Casino, where a showing of the vehicles will be from Friday afternoon through Sunday. The show is free to the public. The parade across the bridge will feature Max Armstrong, co-host of television's "This Week in Agribusiness," marking the second annual tractor show produced by Nostalgia Productions of St. Ignace.

Mr. Armstrong is well known to viewers of RFD-TV, "rural America's television network," offering them a peek into his "tractor shed" filled with antique farm equipment.

Enthusiasm for the old farm machines is expected to bring crowds of collectors and spectators to St. Ignace and Mackinaw City for the weekend show, just as it did last year.

"Mackinaw, we just swamped that town over there," said Bob Baumgras, organizer of the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Parade and Show, of last year's show. The 627 antique tractor owners visiting Mackinaw City swarmed into restaurants in the village, causing some of them to run out of food last year, he said.

"Thing about tractor people is that they like to have a good time. If you treat them nice, they'll come back."

This year they will come back in greater numbers. About 880 tractors have registered for the parade and show, with Mr. Baumgras turning some registrants down to keep the show at a manageable level, he said.

"Our phones have been ringing off the hooks about Mackinac Bridge stuff for the past two months," he said. "I could get about 1,000 tractors if I really tried. I'm not really trying now."

Since the inaugural tractor parade in 2008, Mr. Baumgras received requests for another this year. He immediately began preparations for the 2009 show, working with the cooperation of Nostalgia Productions and Mackinac Bridge Authority.

Several changes have been made to the event, including a new display in Mackinaw City before the crossing to St. Ignace. Registered tractors will be parked at the Mackinaw Historical Society property at the Headlands site off Wildnerness Park Drive Thursday, September 17, for public display from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hot dogs and bratwurst will be available for purchase from the historical society and the proceeds will benefit the organization.

About 300 tractors will cruise through Mackinaw City at around 10:30 a.m. Friday, September 19, 100 more than last year. The parade will begin at Crossings Drive, proceeding to South Huron, Central Avenue, Nicolet Street, Jamet Street, and onto the Mackinac Bridge. The tractors will begin crossing the bridge at 11 a.m.

A small muscle car show will also be in Mackinaw City Friday. Mr. Baumgras decided to add a car show to offer an event for Mackinaw City crowds while the tractors cross over to St. Ignace. The car show will also be on the historical society property and will parade through Mackinaw City Friday morning after the tractors leave. The is no registration fee, organizer Dan Schmalzreid said, and residents of Mackinaw City are welcome to park their own cars at the show.

"Send 'em. The more the merrier," Mr. Schmalzreid said of the cars.

Chum Ostwald of Levering will be grand marshal of the parade. Growing up on a 55-acre farm, Mr. Ostwald developed a love for tractors when he began participating in antique tractor pulls. He owns three Allis-Chalmers, one John Deere, and a Co-Op brand tractor.

"I guess what you grow up with is you're kind of prejudiced towards," he said of his tractor hobby.

Mr. Ostwald has spent the past month stripping down his 1954 Allis-Chalmers WD 45 and carefully painting each part. About 80 parts have been cleaned, sandblasted, and repainted in preparation for the show and parade. Painting tractors is much different than painting a car, he said, as there are many inside surfaces on tractors that are not visible but must be dismantled to be cleaned and painted.

As interest in the tractor parade continues to grow, some registrants are holding their own events in the spirit of the show. Bob Collins and Myrl Hawley of Eaton Rapids are conducting a "tractor caravan," driving their antique tractors from their homes to the parade and back again. Members of the All Color Tractor Club, Mr. Collins and Mr. Hawley will pass through Alma, Lake City, and Petoskey gathering other registered tractors as they chug along the road at 15 miles per hour. Mr. Collins expects the caravan to be about 20 tractors strong.

Beginning Monday, September 14, the scenic tour would use lesstraveled roads, Mr. Collins said. The leisurely pace of the vehicles makes for conversation and enjoyment of the scenery.

"It gets you away from the hurry and scurry of the world we live in," he said, noting that the people are "more fun than the tractors."

Driving a tractor from Eaton Rapids to St. Ignace will take nearly four days. A tractor can drive all day on a single tank of gas, he said, with his tractor getting 13 miles to the gallon instead of 7.5 miles he gets from his truck.

Slow-moving vehicle lights will be installed on the tractors and camping supplies will be brought along for the trip. The caravan will enter different towns during its journey, and will be escorted by the sheriffs of some of the counties. Tractor processions often meet with mixed responses, Mr. Collins said, with some drivers enjoying the line of farming equipment, and others wanting them to hurry up and get out of the way.

Ardent tractor collectors, Mr. Collins owns 20 tractors and Mr. Hawley possesses 30. Many of the vehicles are restored with new parts, resulting in tractors that function better than when they were new, Mr. Collins said.