One of the most popular events at the Simcoe County Museum took place this weekend and is a sure sign the tourism destination is now preparing for fall and winter events.
The Last Blast is a joint event by the museum and the Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) of Canada. It brings to life vintage construction equipment, tractors, classic trucks, steam-powered rollers, shovels, road-building equipment and other classic mechanical devices.
Events programmer Shaughna Crew said that while the Last Blast is a very well-attended event, it wasn’t originally designed to be a museum showcase.
“This has been happening for many years and it started kind of by accident,” said Crew. “All the vintage machines are brought in for the winter and so they’re started up and driven inside. People started asking if they could watch the old tractors and such be driven by the engineers and the crowds have just grown over time.”
The Last Blast is just one of many events that the museum hosts and as it came to an end, Crew said it is only about to get busier at the building and grounds at 1151 Highway 26.
“In less than two weeks we have our Evening of Halloween event, which is full of games and activities for the family and the Terror Trail for the braver people,” said Crew. “A month and half after that is our wonderful Victorian Christmas which is a look at the holiday season from years gone by.”
The Evening of Halloween takes place from Monday, Oct. 28 to Wednesday, Oct. 30, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The Victorian Christmas event is on Thursday, Dec. 12 and Friday, Dec. 13 from 6p.m. to 9 p.m.
Prices for both events can be found on the museum website.
