SOUTHAMPTON — Saturday’s Lighted Tractor Parade is expected to be “largest event in Florence of the year,” and the “largest gathering in the Florence since Florence Night Out was last featured in 2022,” according to Florence Civic and Business Association Treasurer Andrew Munson, who expects thousands of people to greet as many as 50 tractors after the large turnout of last year’s inaugural parade.

The night is organized and funded by the FCBA, a nonprofit that sponsors many of the various seasonal parades and gatherings in the neighborhood. Munson said that the parade serves as a fitting venue for farmers to promote small business.

Among those farmers will be sisters Becky Bennett and Jenny Tryon, together carrying the weight of three previous generations as they grow into their role as the cultivators of Glencroft Farm in Southampton.

“We’re big believers that if you’re going to work as hard as we do, that you have to play hard too... And what better way than to drive tractors with lots of lights on them?” said Bennett, speaking on the family-owned farm Thursday.

In the parade, which will feature farmers from across various Hampshire County communities, including Southampton, Hadley, Northampton, and Chesterfield, Bennett will drive a 4345 Massey Ferguson tractor made in 2003, and Tryon will drive a 2810 Ford made in 1988, both hauling wagons of hay and decorated with lights.

The two sisters, the fourth generation to work the land and who both have several kids of their own, have been taking over more responsibility on the farm over the past years as they work to preserve the heirloom being handed down from their parents and the farm’s current owners, Mark and Kate Raymond.

Their work on the farm is part time, and they juggle the responsibilities in addition to having full-time jobs and raising families. They live close by the 180-acre farm, located on Glendale Road in Southampton. The farm started in 1943 with tobacco and chickens and transitioned to a dairy farm, later shifting to boarding horses in the mid-90s. At present, the farm boards 21 horses and produces hay, mulch and straw.

“It’s nice to have some youth and energy and smiles and all the happiness that comes with hard work,” said Mark Raymond. The grandfather to nine grandchildren also said that, “It’s nice that this keeps the family together. That’s the biggest thing. The biggest is family.”

Tryon, who attended college in Boston and now works in the field she studied, physical therapy, said that it had always been her plan to raise her family on the farm. Bennett, however, returned to the farm followed a year-long “phase” in California. After that year, “I was so homesick,” she said, explaining that she missed the open space and wooded areas, as well as he family connections in Southhampton. Her full-time career is spent as owner of Water Wonders Swim School LLC.

“Some days are more enjoyable than others. It’s hard work. We definitely learn the value of putting in the hard work to have great outcomes,” said Tryon, and Bennett expressed that “the coolest part lately has been seeing our kids really start to be an active part, not only playing here but working here.”

Bennett said that the farm requires anywhere from two to 12 hours of attention, depending on the day.

“In the summer there are some days that we are here from 7, 7:30 in the morning until 7 at night. There are other days that we are just here to take care of the horses,” she said.

“I think that when you love what you do it’s not work, and that’s something that I want my kids to know ... you can work hard, and at the end of the day it feels pretty damn good, and you had a pretty darn good day. And that’s living a good life.”

She continued: “I want to be part of preserving it, and make sure that it is staying the way that it is.”

And as far as revenue from the farm is concerned: “We pay the bills,” said Mark Raymond.

Parade details

The Lighted Tractor Parade begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and will travel down Main Street to Look Park, with announcements made near Murduff’s Jewelry in Florence. Food Trucks, located at 40 Main St., will be available beginning at 4:30 p.m. Spectators are encouraged to line Main Street or head over to Look Park.

Last year’s parade was conceived by Rich and Sandy Jaescke, who run the Pinebrook Farmstand in Northampton and have been active in organizing this year’s parade. They had approached the Florence business association with the idea, inspired by similar parades in Vermont and upstate New York.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com