For the past four years, a hidden gem of North Harford is the Highland Holiday Tractor Parade hosted by Mason Dixon Country and Falling Branch Brewery. The parade starts with a string of tractors at North Harford High School, before heading towards Falling Branch Brewery for an after party, where different vendors were set up.
Mrs. Meghan Tripp, a community member and mother of an NHES student, has attended the parade for three years. “I like that it’s different from other parades. And it’s definitely grown in popularity.” She adds that she really likes, “The community. It’s a very North Harford thing,”said Tripp.
Some of Tripp’s favorite parts of the parade is, “the music, and I like all the lights, and the creativity of the floats.”
There are things that can be improved upon, according to Tripp, such as, “the traffic and parking” and also the breaks between floats since she thinks they can be “confusing, to someone who’s never been here before. There were a lot of people trying to leave while the parade was still going on, causing a jam,” said Tripp.
This parade contains tractors pulling hay wagons decorte in a vast amount of ways. Some of the local farms who participated were Grimmel Farms, Molly Hill Farm, Halsey Farm, Harkins Hill Farm, High View Farm, Benjamin’s Landing Farm. But it wasn’t just farms who participated in this parade.
Local businesses and politicians also participated such as, Whiteford Fire Department, Keene Dodge, Beachmont Child Care, Slate Brewery, Black Horse 4-H Club, The Green Door, the North Harford High School FFA chapter, and County Executive Bob Cassilly.
Sophomore Keegan Huss, helped decorate the FFA float from the North Harford chapter. “Decorating the float was so much fun, so much went into it. Everyone contributed something, so it was personal in some way or another,” Huss said,
Each float had a theme, “Our theme was barnyard Christmas. We had some animal inflatables to stick to the theme,” says Huss, “Being on the float was so incredibly fun, it was a night filled with a lot of laughter, freezing in the cold and just all around fun.”
Additionally, “I want to mention that we did have some slight hiccups on parade day, but we all pulled together and the teamwork we all participated in was the only way it could have happened. I’m so glad I got to be a part of it, and I’m really proud of how we all came through for each other when needed.”
