Rodeo, fairgoers celebrate heritage
Cloverdale event offers chance to kick back
You don’t have to be a cowgirl or cowboy to enjoy the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair, but you sure start to feel like one after a day amid all the excitement.
This Victoria Day long weekend, the rodeo celebrated its 69th year while the fair chalked up an incredible 127 years.
Organizers said they expect some 80,000 folks to show up for the fair and up to 25,000 for the rodeo over four days.
On sunny Saturday, families and friends slapped on sunscreen before slipping on their cowboy hats and boots to two-step to local country music and cheer for the fearless log-rollers at the West Coast Lumberjack Show.
Attendees hooted and hollered on amusement park rides and in saloons alike; they ate several kinds of pulled meat slathered in barbecue sauce.
Many folks headed to the barn for cowmilking demonstrations and to lay eyes upon an adorable two-day-old miniature donkey resting beside its mother.
The Reptile Guy out of Abbotsford showed off a seemingly friendly boa constrictor named Freckles who was willing to be touched by anyone brave enough.
Laura Ballance, spokeswoman for the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair, said this year’s event boasts dozens of shows, exhibits and attractions along with B.C.’s largest travelling midway.
There’s good reason why the long-running rodeo and fair have become some of Western Canada’s most-beloved events, according to Ballance.
“I think people want to go back in time, experience that connection, do something that’s different and unique and celebrates the strong agricultural and country heritage of this part of the province and the country.”
Chad Cannon, owner of Boss Hog’s Smokin’ Chophouse based out of London, Ont., was busy at the grill serving up massive racks of ribs smothered in a house-made barbecue sauce.
Cannon said his team, which had earned 500 awards for its barbecue in the past decade, can though 30 to 40 five-gallon buckets of sauce over a weekend.
Though Boss Hog’s doesn’t attend many fairs, Cannon said he was enjoying himself in Cloverdale.
“People are allowed to have beers, come up (for) barbecue — what more could you ask for?” Cannon said.
“Nice beautiful day, barbecue, beer, great tunes, cowboys, cowgirls. Great thing.”