By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

DACUSVILLE — For years, the Dacusville Pioneer Farm Days were held at the home farm of Jimmy Robinson. Friends and family members helped operate the event, saluting the area’s farm heritage.

But when Jimmy’s son Randy died unexpectedly in 2011, Robinson lost his passion for the event. While Randy had always been passionate about the event, Jimmy’s other son Frankie never developed as passion for the farm life. Although his youngest son, Danny, participated in the event each year, he never assumed a leadership role and had no interest in controlling the event.

So reluctantly, Jimmy decided to cancel the event, finding the pressure of such a big event was too much for his aging body.

But some neighbors who had participated in the event wanted to keep the tribute to the farming way of life alive. They came up with another site for the festival, at Tom Turner’s property in Dacusville.

Members of the Dacusville Community Club splintered into a new group called the Dacusville Heritage Association to sponsor the event. The event will be held for the second time in its new location this weekend.

One holdover from the old celebration is the “Parade of Power,” as vendors drive through the festival grounds at an appointed time on their collectible tractors. The parade is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.

The festival also features an “old fashioned” dunking boot, live music, arts and crafts, a kid’s zone, food, homemade ice cream and classic cars, trucks and jeeps.

There will be live demonstrations of antique farm equipment, as well as prize drawings.

Nine Forks Baptist Church, which neighbors the festival site, will set up a booth giving away free bottles of water as people deal with the late summer temperatures.

The event is sponsored by the Dacusville Heritage Association. Driving to Dacusville, festival seekers are advised to go past the Dacusville Community Center (the old Dacusville school site) and look for the festival grounds on the left. If you reach Nine Forks Baptist Church, you’ve gone too far.