Posted December 14, 2016 at 04:47am by Laura Hardie
Annual Holiday Tractor Parade Draws Big Crowds to St. Albans
Santa traded in his sleigh for a tractor at the third annual holiday tractor parade on Friday, December 9. Crowds gathered to watch the parade of over 45 farm tractors decorated for the season with holiday lights and more as they made their way from the farm fields to Main Street.
The tractors, milk trucks and farm equipment came from local dairy farms and nearly doubled in number since the parade first started in 2014. The tractor parade is organized by the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, local sponsors as well as the dairy farmers of northern Vermont. Organizers say the parade is a way to thank Vermont's farmers for all they do and to get people in the holiday spirit too.
“The St. Albans Co-op and our local farmers enjoy being able to provide the community with a fun, free family event during the holidays,” said Leon Berthiaume, CEO of the St. Albans Co-op, “and the parade gives people an opportunity to show their support for our farmers and the high quality, nutritious dairy products that they produce locally in Vermont.”
Food donations were collected and money was raised to be donated to Northwest Family Foods, a food shelf program serving Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.
Other family friendly activities included meeting Santa and face painting.
Sponsors of the tractor parade include: 14th Star Brewing Co., Blue Seal Feeds, Candiea, Champlain Valley Equipment, Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Grainger Industrial Supply, Green Mountain Power, Hillcrest Foods, Mars Petcare, MC Logistics, the St. Albans Messenger, Top Bedding, and UniFirst.
About the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery:
The St. Albans Cooperative Creamery is a member-governed dairy cooperative committed to providing service, stable markets and the greatest achievable return to our members by delivering the highest quality milk, milk products and services to our customers. The Cooperative provides active leadership in the dairy industry and political environment to benefit all dairy farmers.