Lindsay lands International Plowing Match 2020 with expected 80,000 visitors

The Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA) has announced the location of the 2020 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo will be Kawartha Lakes, at the Lindsay Exhibition Fairgrounds.

“We looked at several potential locations for IPM 2020 and this one ticked all the boxes,” says newly minted OPA President Sheila Marshall. “It’s a great spot, in a fantastic, agriculturally rich community. “We’re excited to bring the IPM and its 80,000-plus visitors to Kawartha Lakes.”

The IPM, which is held in a different community every year, is a multi-day celebration of agriculture and rural living. It includes plowing competitions, live entertainment on multiple stages, hundreds of exhibitors, demonstrations, educational displays/activities and much more.

This event typically attracts 80,000+ people and has an economic impact of about $25 million (based on tourism industry formulas). IPM 2020 will be held the week after Thanksgiving.

It was pushed back a few weeks from its traditional date in order to fit into the schedule at the Lindsay Exhibition (354 Angeline St. S.), which will house Tented City. With a variety of buildings and facilities at the Exhibition, Tented City will take on a new look with its many attractions, activities and hundreds of exhibitors.

Plowing competitions will be held on nearby fields. The OPA Board of Directors approached the Lindsay Exhibition last fall about the prospect of bringing the International Plowing Match to the fairgrounds. Several other locations were also under consideration right up until a final location was selected.

An event of this scale requires hundreds of volunteers, as well numerous sponsors. Organizers will soon begin efforts to sign up both.

IPM 2019 will be held in Verner, West Nipissing from Sept. 17 to 21. For more information about the Ontario Plowmen’s Association, visit plowingmatch.org.