Hold onto your cowboy hats, in less than a week bull riders will descend on Jasper to partake in the town’s annual rodeo from Aug. 12 to 15.
Held outdoors for the first time in 37 years, organizers have been working hard over the past few months to get the site ready, building an outdoor arena, a holding pen for the animals and bleachers.
“Rodeo has always been an outdoor event, so it’s nice to see it go back outside,” said Dallas Klassen, chair of the rodeo association.
“We’ve got the best backdrop of any professional rodeo that I’ve ever been to and we’re the only rodeo in a national park in Alberta,” he said while standing on the bleachers with Pyramid Mountain behind him.
Construction of the site began in June with the majority of work completed a week before the big event.
This year the rodeo will be held at the municipal snow dump, up the road from Whistlers Campground.
To get the outdoor site ready, organizer’s first priority was laying out the arena, explained Klassen.
“The dirt that’s in the arena now is the dirt that we’ve been using inside for the last 37 years,” he said.
“We’re going to bring some sand in to add to the dirt just to make it a little bit more rain friendly.”
From there, the team built the holding pens for the animals and spent a week building the bleachers.
Klassen said it cost about $100,000 to get the venue ready.
“Nobody’s on payroll, it’s all volunteers.”
Every year Northcott Harvey Rodeo supplies the bulls, broncos and calves for the rodeo.
“They take rodeo pretty serious,” said Klassen, explaining they are one of the few rodeo contractors still in the business.
In addition to the rodeo, which will take place each evening between Aug. 12 and 15, there will also be a number of other activities during the four-day event.
On Aug. 11, there will be an open house, allowing people to check out the new setup and tour the chutes.
The following day, a stick pony parade will be held in town for children starting at the Jasper Elementary School at 11 a.m.
After the parade wraps up, the rodeo will officially open its gates at 4 p.m. with free shuttles leaving every 15 minutes from the information centre. Performances start at 6 p.m. everyday.
Parking is limited, so organizers are urging people to take the shuttle, which will make return trips starting at 8:30 p.m. until everyone is home.
On Aug. 15, ATCO will also be hosting a free event called Li’l Britches Corral from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children are encourage to drop by the rodeo grounds for pony rides, face painting, a chance to meet some of the riders and learn how to rope.
Later that evening, there will also be a community dance held at the Jasper Activity Centre starting at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20.
The rodeo is a licensed event and there will also be a food truck offering hamburgers, hot dogs and fries.
Tickets cost $22 for adults and $11 for kids and can be bought at the gate or at Athabasca Hotel.
Organizers are still looking for volunteers for security and ask anyone who is interested to call Klassen at 780-931-6210 or Laura Park, vice-chair of the rodeo association, at 780-883-0781.
Paul Clarke
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