Rose City Threshing and Heritage Festival

Head to Central Minnesota to experience farming from a bygone era at the Rose City Threshing and Heritage Festival.

Although my Dad would take us to Threshing shows all over MN,  the Rose City Threshing Show and Heritage Festival was just a few short miles from where I grew up.

The noises of the engines, the smells of the food, and all of the other sites and sounds make threshing shows a fun event for all ages. 

The realization of how much things have changed over the years, technology is now a huge part of farming.  Going to a threshing like this one is a chance to step back in a time, and also appreciate where our food comes from.

Rose City Threshing Show and Heritage Festival takes place the last full weekend of July.  This year it falls on July 25-26th.  Rose City is located in central MN, not far from Alexandria, Osakis, and several other towns up that way.

Admission for the whole weekend is $10 and 12 and under are free. Free primitive camping is available. A full list of things to do and see makes the admission price well worth it!  

During this annual celebration of farming from a bygone era, you can watch lumber sawing, shingle making, blacksmithing, plowing, potato digging, rope making, and sheep shearing.

There is a children’s barn, children games, pedal pull, antique tractor pull, live music, Church service, small engine displays, corn shelling, corn grinding, tractor and antique equipment displays, and more.

Be sure to check out both of the original homes on the farm. First the log cabin and then the old two story farm home fully furnished with the appliances of the past.

Another building to check out is the barn. The names of all the cows are still listed, even though there are no longer any cows in there. The lower part of the barn is home to many different gas engines. The upper level no longer holds hay for the cows, but is home to a one-of-a-kind museum.

 What does “Threshing” mean: 

So what really is a “threshing show”? Back in the day, all farmers threshed their grain. Usually, neighbors got together, and helped each other with this chore. The grain had to be cut, shocked and stacked.

After a week, the grain was loaded onto bundle rack and hauled up to where the threshing machine was set up. The grain bundle was tossed onto the platform and the chains took the bundle into the machine.

There the heads of the grain are beaten off from the straw. The grain goes into a box and the straw is blown out of the back of the machine unto the ground.