A century-old cotton gin will groan back to life inside Dallas Park this weekend as Gaston County's largest annual festival returns for its 39th year, running Friday through Sunday, October 9 through 11, 2026. Cotton Ginning Days draws an estimated spectator crowd topping 25,000 people over its three-day run, centered around the working machinery and agricultural history that gave Dallas its identity as Gaston County's original county seat.
The festival is a joint production of Gaston County Parks and Recreation and the Gaston Agricultural, Mechanical, & Textile Restoration Association, known as GAMTRA, a volunteer group founded in 1987 to preserve the region's industrial and farming heritage, according to GAMTRA. GAMTRA volunteers are the ones who keep the vintage machinery running each year, and their work culminates at the restored 1900 single-stand, hand-fed Continental Cotton Gin housed in the Lankford Cotton Gin Building. The gin is powered by a 37.5-horsepower Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine inside the adjacent Wilson Engine Shed, per Gaston County Government, which notes GAMTRA members hand-built the post-and-beam gin structure using traditional timber-framing techniques in the early 1990s.
Last year's 38th annual festival offered a glimpse of what repeats in 2026: volunteers like Nick Carter working the cotton gin, and families such as Casey and Charlie Shaw checking out antique tractors on the grounds, according to the Gaston Gazette. The same report notes that past festivals have featured steam-powered saws, antique cars on display, and kids pumping water by hand, images that have become something of a tradition at Dallas Park alongside the historic machinery demonstrations.
A Festival Born to Honor Blue-Collar Labor
The event traces back to 1988, when GAMTRA and Gaston County first launched it specifically to honor 19th- and early 20th-century Southern blue-collar labor, the organization says. That mission still shapes the grounds today at Dallas Park, a 90-acre property that includes a dedicated Historic Village with a 19th-century barn, homes, a kitchen, a chapel, and a blacksmith shop, according to Gaston County Government. Those structures stay open for educational demonstrations throughout the festival, offering a counterpoint to the modern sports complexes and three fishing lakes that otherwise define the park.
The festival's reach even extends to Washington. Former U.S. Representative Sue Myrick once visited Cotton Ginning Days and asked GAMTRA to compile a Local Legends record documenting Gaston County's traditions. The resulting material was cataloged and archived by the American Folklife Center and is part of its permanent collection, per the same source. It is a detail that underscores how a county fair built around farm machinery turned into a recognized piece of national folklife documentation.
Parades, Tractor Rodeos and a New Lakeside Stage
Programming connects the festival directly to the surrounding town. The signature Parade of Power tractor procession leaves Dallas Park at 9 a.m. Friday and travels through downtown Dallas, followed by a Saturday afternoon parade across the festival grounds and 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday Tractor Rodeo competitions, according to the Wise News Network. Both parades feature working antique tractors and farm equipment; Friday's procession travels through downtown, while Saturday's parade stays within the festival grounds. The Gaston Gazette has previously captured the procession moving along Trade Street in Dallas.
New this year, organizers relocated live musical performances to the lakeside Dallas Park Amphitheater for improved acoustics, according to Gaston County Parks & Recreation. Saturday vendor hours have been extended until 7 p.m. to align with the evening concert at the amphitheater, which sits near one of the park's fishing lakes.
Getting There: Shuttles Replace Main Entrance Parking
Saturday traffic is heavy enough that Gaston County runs continuous free shuttle buses between overflow parking at Gaston College and the Citizens Resource Center next to Dallas Park, according to Eventeny. The park's main Leisure Lane entrance closes to general vehicle access during that window, and general field parking inside the park tends to fill quickly during peak Saturday hours, the listing notes.
Dallas itself adds another layer of history to the weekend. The town was once Gaston County's seat of government and is home to the old courthouse and the Gaston County Museum of Art and History, according to Go Gaston NC. The festival continues to put Dallas's agricultural roots front and center each October.
