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Annual Rimbey Rodeo to be downsized

Staff

Patrons of the annual Rimbey Rodeo can expect to see some changes this summer as the local tradition will be downsized in light of a significant drop in attendance over the past several years.

“We’re not going to have an FCA (Foothills Cowboy Association) rodeo this year due to high expenses and low crowd interest, but we’re going to do our best to put on a little local rodeo,” said Hazel Street, promotions director for the Rimbey Rodeo Board.

Fondly known as Alberta’s favourite pastime, rodeos are well attended throughout the province, which can mean both good and bad news. On the one hand, larger communities such as Ponoka attract tens of thousands fans each year for their rodeo however those fans come at the expense of smaller rodeos in smaller communities such as Rimbey.

“Hopefully, we’ll have local contestants to bring out the local people. We just couldn’t seem to get much of a crowd for the FCA rodeo but we do have pretty stiff competition,” Street said. “Innisfail’s rodeo is that same weekend, and that’s a professional rodeo, and then Gimlet has had a rodeo for many more years than we’ve had and they have a CARA (Central Alberta Rodeo Association) on the same weekend, so I think a lot of people went there. That’s why we’re trying to stay away from Sunday. That’s when Gimlet’s rodeo is, so if we go on Friday and Saturday, then we’re in a little better co-ordination with Gimlet.”

On any given weekend between the beginning of May and end of August, Street said fans could attend three or even more rodeos in different communities and while they’ve tried to fit into the schedules of others, the Rimbey Rodeo Board was bound to the requirements of the FCA, making the process much more difficult.

Street can’t quite put her finger on why Rimbey hasn’t been able to attract significant crowds lately.

“I don’t know why. We’ve tried the night rodeo, we tried the great acts, great bands, we’ve tried everything and we just can’t seem to attract the local people,” she said. “There are several other rodeos in central Alberta that weekend and I don’t know. We’ve spent quite a bit on advertising and we just can’t seem to get the people out so I’m thinking maybe they’d be more interested if it was kept local.”

This year’s rodeo is June 18 and 19 and will begin with the annual pancake breakfast at the Co-op. The first day of the event will also feature barrel racing, wild cow milking and cowhide races with the second day reserved for the bigger events including saddle bronc, bareback, calf wrestling and bull riding.

The Town of Rimbey will again sponsor the rodeo parade on the Saturday morning.

And while the board is still seeking an alternative midway and entertainment, they are working hard on new ideas, including one to make the event more family-friendly.

“We’re kind of looking at maybe having a dance for the kids as well as the adults. I don’t know if we can co-ordinate the two and we might have to speak to the liquor board about that but we’d really like to have something like that so the kids can come to the dance and have more of a local-type of thing,” Street said.

“We really want to bring the best and biggest crowd we can to support our town. We’re trying to find what people are interested in so they will come to town and maybe spend the weekend,” she added. “We’re going to do our best to get the best we can. Thanks to all the people who have supported us over the years, and probably will continue to, and we encourage everyone to come out and watch it.”