David Yochim, of Albion, sits inside an Avery, a tractor famous for its undermounted engine that resembled a railroad engine at the Portersville Steam Show in 2023 . This one has a 1904 boiler. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

The annual Portersville Steam Show will be held on the Portersville Showgrounds from Thursday, Aug.1 to Sunday, Aug.4.

The Northwest Pennsylvania Steam Engine and Old Equipment Association is gearing up to host its biggest show of the summer. This show will feature a diverse lineup of events — each day will host a flea market of vast items, a threshing and bailing event, and more. A select group of local artists is expected to have booths at the show. There will be a blacksmith, carpenter, woodshop, and printshop for attendees to engage with.

For folks looking for good food or live music, the steam show also will have plenty of that. Amish doughnuts and popcorn will be available to guests, and square dancing will be held Saturday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Several bluegrass-style bands are set to perform. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the showgrounds, but there will be many opportunities for refreshment and fun.

The main event, of course, will be the antique machinery on display. Steam and gas engines, oil field equipment, fractional horsepower engines and more will be featured. Train displays, air and gas engine models, old tractors — you name it, the Portersville Steam Show will have it.

Nathan Minnitte, president of the Steam Engine and Old Equipment Association, is eagerly anticipating this year’s event.

“This year’s feature is Case (steam engines], so we’re really excited about that,” Minnitte said. “You’ll see some Cases here that you won’t see very often.”

Enthusiasts and novice steam engine admirers alike are encouraged to attend. There will be transfer sled pulls of different weight classes, multiple pedal tractor pulls for children, and a “King of the Mountain” weigh-in.

The showgrounds is maintained by the nonprofit association with a goal to “preserve, display, and demonstrate equipment of the past,” according to the organization’s website.

”It takes a lot of work,” Minnitte said of preparation for the show. “A lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of grass cutting and maintenance. It’s all volunteer-based.”

Minnitte also mentioned a lively return to tradition that he hopes will draw more people in this summer. The steam show will be holding its first tractor parade in many years.

“We’re doing a tractor parade this year that hasn’t been done in years. We’re trying to get that kick-started again.”

The event will be held all day from Thursday through Saturday on the Portersville Showgrounds, 1512 Perry Highway, Portersville.

Working in a cloud of steam, Ed Midkiff of West Sunbury stops the motion of a 100-year-old engine at the Portersville Steam and Old Equipment Association's 30th Spring Gas-up steam show. He found the steam-powered antique, which was used in oil drilling operations, in West Virginia.

Collectors, including Bob Lewis, of Harmony, showed off their antique steam equipment at the annual Portersville Steam Show Spring Gas-Up. Lewis works on a 1913 Bessemer engine on Saturday afternoon, May 20, 2023. Some of the equipment in the show dates to the late-19th century. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle