Green County 2020 Guide

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Exceptional Apples MAY 17 Pancake Breakfast & Airport Fly-In featured events 2020 n featured events 2020 For more events see the calendar at the back of the guide, and for the latest updates follow "Brodhead Chamber of Commerce" on Facebook. Our Family Farm Since 1839 Ten Eyck Orchard 2 miles west of Brodhead 10 miles east of Monroe Hwy. 11 & 81, Brodhead Open end of August through mid-November 608.897.4014 teneyckorchard.com Bip a e Rides & Sce icTours JUNE 21 - AUGUST 9 Twilight in the Park Concerts Sunday Evenings AUGUST 7-9 Covered Bridge Days JULY 19 Optimist Pig Roast AUGUST 11 Brodhead Night Out SEPT. 12 Fall Fish Boil MAY 23 Depot Museum Open for the Season

TRACTOR FANS HOOK UP FOR COMMON PURPOSE Brodhead is a community with strong rural roots, and tractors many knew someone dealing with dementia. They combined their collective love of tractors not only with a way to raise awareness of dementia, but also to raise funds for the cause. Brodhead’s first Tractor Drive and Ride for the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin was held in 2014. Through sponsorships, entry fees, and a silent auction, the group raises an average of $5000 each year.

SEPT. 27 Tractor Drive & Ride

OCTOBER 31 Dia De Los Muertos

often take center stage. Tractor shows, tractor pulls, and tractor parades are common. Tractors power everything from sawmills to corn shelling machines at the community’s annual Covered Bridge Days Thresheree. Tractors pull hay wagon floats in the homecoming parade, and there’s a drive your tractor to school day at the high school. It’s a Sunday afternoon in September, and a crowd of tractor enthusiasts have gathered in the picnic shelter at Brodhead’s grass runway airport. At first glance, this gathering looks like something that might happen at any small town where residents like to celebrate their rural roots and agricultural past. But many are wearing t-shirts that say hook for awareness along with an illustration of a tractor hitch. This event isn’t just about remembering. It’s about using a shared interest in tractors to host a very special Tractor Drive and Ride and to forge ahead in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia. Fritz Wenger and his wife Sarah are two key organizers of the Tractor Drive and Ride event. Sarah spends most weekends with her mother, eighty-six year old Therese (Terry) Zimmerman, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2006. She needs round- the-clock care, and it is difficult to get home care workers for weekends and overnight. Tractor enthusiasts tend to find each other, and when these collectors connected, they found another common thread:

BRODHEAD AIRPORT & AROUND THE MIDWEST

MAY — OCTOBER Weather Permitting ✦ Gift Certificates Available ✦ The biplane seats two passengers. Flights start at $60 per person with two passengers.

The most visible part of the event is the tractor parade, which includes wagons for riders. The route passes by assisted living and memory care facilities, with the staff bringing residents outside or to the windows to watch. The hope is that the procession will spark a memory of days gone by – when the residents or their neighbors were using tractors to till the soil, harvest the crops, and earn a living from the land. At the 2019 event, Dementia Outreach Specialist, Teena Gerber, stopped by to talk about resources for those with dementia and their caregivers. She also shared tips for a brain- healthy lifestyle. Don’t stop moving. Change your routine – if you usually go left when you get into the grocery store, instead go right. Stay connected with other people. And finally – find a purpose. Brodhead’s Tractor Drive and Ride event raises awareness, raises funds, and raises the bar in making dementia research a priority. The organizers and participants are moving, they’re connecting, and yes – they have surely found a purpose.

NOVEMBER 7 Jaycees Holiday Market

GYPSY AIR TOURS | 608-215-7896 www.gypsyairtours.com Experience the majestic beauty of the skies from the open cockpit of a vintage 1930 WACO Taperwing.

DEC. 4-5 Fire & Ice Festival

DECEMBER 12 Cookie Walk – Frosty's Workshop

WIN!

Vintage biplane trip for two with Gypsy Air Tours! Go to greencounty.org/contest to enter the contest.