HPOCA brings national show to Wooster

The HPOCA Summer Show is a special gathering for tractor enthusiasts and lovers of all things related to collecting and agricultural equipment. What makes it special? For one, it doesn’t happen every summer.

OK, it does. Just not here. The show travels. Last year it was in North Dakota. Next year it will be in Minnesota.

This year? Right here in Wooster, where it has not been since 2011 and may not be again for another 15 years or so.

Billed as “Three days of horsepower, history and hands-on fun you don’t want to miss,” the Summer Show will be June 25-27 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds, 199 Vanover St., Wooster. It will include a pedal pull, auction, tractor pulls, demonstrations and tours, among other things. In short, there will be something to see, do or learn about for folks of all ages and sizes.

“With the weather we’ve got coming and the price of gas coming down, I’m thinking somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 will be at this show over the three days,” Summer Show spokesman Joe Gress said.

All three days are packed with activities, from bus trips to off-site attractions to daily demonstrations and activities to tractor pulls and parades.

Gress said if there’s one to pencil in as a can’t-miss moment, it will be the first day when folks can take in the sights of Ron Grosjean’s Collection and Museum.

“Honestly, especially if you’re not from the area, the one thing you’re gonna not want to miss is the Thursday night tour of the Ron Grosjean museum,” he said. “Ron’s opening his museum up to people, and you will not see another museum anywhere like it, not only in the U.S., but I’m going to have to say also worldwide. The scope of what he has is unrivaled. You don’t know how lucky you are until you’ve seen it. Then it’s like, ‘Wow.’”

Also on Day 1 is a bus trip over Route 30 to Mansfield to the Ohio State Reformatory, now best known as the home of the “Shawshank Redemption.” Day 2, folks can take another bus to tour a bit of Amish Country.

“It’s for both local people and nonlocal people,” Gress said of the bus tours. “The things that are nationally known, the movie ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ all over the world people have seen that. That’s something we can offer in this area for someone who’s not from this area. And everybody’s heard of Amish Country. That’s why we offer that one also.”

The HPOCA is the Hart-Parr Oliver Collectors Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to benefit and educate the public about the history of Hart-Parr & Oliver and associated companies. The organization highlights machinery, memorabilia and other items mostly related to agriculture and its mechanical history.

The annual production is not just a tractor show, which is how it might be described in the simplest terms. Instead, the Summer Show puts agricultural history in the spotlight, celebrating innovation. Folks can get an up-close look at things that have made agricultural evolution happen over the decades.

“It is the national Oliver show, but we’ve also got four other brands that are heritage brands,” Gress said. “Any kind or color of tractor, you’re going to be able to see it there.”

Exhibits include educational opportunities, plenty of memorabilia and collectibles related for the most part to agricultural machinery, along with vendors and a variety of food. The show emphasizes the HPOCA motto of promoting “Fun, Fellowship, and the Finest in Farm Machinery.”

“People will love the old-time farming demos at different times throughout the day,” Gress said. “There will be different technical demonstrations that are being held throughout the event. A lot of different vendors, food stands. Something for everybody.”

The association has 22 chapters throughout the United States and Canada, including the Buckeye Oliver Collectors, based in Bellville, Ohio.

Admission to the show is $10. More information can be found on Facebook at HPOCA Summer Show 2026 and at olivertractorshows.com. Vendor reception is from 5-7 p.m. June 24.