Beginning this Friday evening and extending throughout Saturday, Southeast Saskatchewan will hear the roar of close to 50 uniquely modified trucks and tractors as they flex their muscle in the annual pulling event held in Odessa, Saskatchewan. Truly a spectacle to behold, some vehicles featured in the show will put over 2,000 Horsepower to work as they make their drag at the strip. Dave Wild, an organizer of the yearly event, wants to remind this year's attendees that ear plugs are highly encouraged.
"Anybody coming, I'd recommend you bring hearing protection. It's nuts, it's loud! There are farms 7 miles away that can hear us when we start pulling. They know exactly when we're in town!"
Wild continues to say that hearing protection will be available at the event for a minimal cost in order to protect spectators' hearing- especially children. Many of the youth-oriented events are scheduled for Saturday beginning at 2:00PM. These include horse pulls, pedal-tractor pulls, and even monster truck rides. An antique car show will also be held on Saturday in downtown Odessa, featuring members from the Majestics Car Club and a WW1 era Biplane that will perform a fly-by during the National Anthem.
With so many great elements coming together for the community's largest fundraiser of the year, Wild remarks that it all began with a great idea and the whole town's willingness to make it a reality.
"You know, it takes a village, and when we first started it was just a small track with a few burgers on the grill. Well, it seems to be getting bigger and better every year. Now I don't think there's a single person in town who hasn't got something to do on the day, everybody's working and volunteering their time to make it happen."
In addition to the evening shows and daytime children's events, Thunder on the Prairies will also feature Beer Gardens and Food Vendors with live entertainment from the Crawdaddys and Wildfire each night. They will also close out the event with a musical fireworks show at dusk, following the conclusion of the pulls on Saturday evening.
Thunder on the Prairies is more than just a must-see experience, it's also how community members raise funds for various projects that keep Odessa thriving. Wild shares that to date, over $300,000 have been raised from the Tractor Pulls, with this year's proceeds going towards the completion of their new Community Hall.
"We've supported the Fire Department and a few other local organizations, but the big thing now is the Community Hall. Our old one was ready to be condemned, and now it's just over a year since we knocked it down. We've since built our new hall and it's about ready for the trim to go up inside."
For additional information or to reach out to a volunteer, visit the Thunder on the Prairies Facebook Page. You can also view a full schedule of the events along with admission prices in the poster below.
