Sunny skies and warm temperatures are expected this week for the 58th annual Siloam Springs Rodeo.
It will be quite the difference from the third week of June in 2015.
For the first time in the history of the event, the rodeo was postponed last June when Tropical Storm Bill blew through Northwest Arkansas and brought heavy rains and flash flooding.
The event ended up being held one month later. Because of the later month and hotter conditions, crowds weren't as strong, but the number of contestants increased from 400 to 458. The total payout of last year's rodeo was $28,678.20, and that total swelled to more than $30,000 when including junior barrels and mutton busting.
With better weather coming, the rodeo will return to its normal time this year and will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the Siloam Springs Rodeo Grounds off Cheri Whitlock Drive.
"We're ready to get back to normal and hopefully that will never happen (again)," said Siloam Springs Riding Club member Karen Davis. "It had a negative impact on our rodeo last year having to move a date."
Festivities actually kick off today at 8 p.m. with the annual Rodeo Street Dance held at the Community Building Parking Lot. The event will feature Fayetteville band Boston Mountain Playboys. In case of inclement weather, the dance will move inside the Community Building.
The rodeo itself will begin each night, Thursday through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. with Mutton Bustin', followed by the Kiddie Grand Entry at 7:45 and the Grand Entry at 8 p.m. There will also be a nightly calf scramble for kids ages 12-and-under.
Rodeo events will start afterward.
In rodeo events, contestants will be competing in events including bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, calf roping, bull dogging (steer wrestling), team roping, barrel racing (junior and senior), ladies breakaway and ranch saddle bronc.
Thursday is Kids Night at the rodeo, where all kids 12-and-under receive free admission with a paid adult.
From 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, there will be a Special Kids Rodeo, geared toward children with special needs. Adults with special needs are welcome as well. Among the events planned are barrel racing, horseback rides, face painting, bucking stations and wagon rides. All kids will receive a cowboy hat, a bandana and a medal. Lunch also will be provided.
On Saturday there will be a parade at 4 p.m., which starts behind Atwoods on Tulsa Street. Everyone who participates in the parade will receive a free ticket to the Saturday rodeo.
Parade prizes are: Best of Show: 1st - $75, 2nd - $50, 3rd - $25. Best Buggy $50, Best Wagon $50, Best Riding Club $50. Winners will be announced Saturday night. The club invites people to bring out their wagons, cars, etc. Any entry is welcome.
General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 7-12. Kids 6-and under get in free.
Advance tickets are $8 and can be purchased at Generations Bank, Powell Feeds, Beyond the Fringe Salon and Pioneer Pizza in Gentry.
Another feature of the rodeo this year will be professional rodeo clown Ronald Burton. Burton, a native of Philadelphia, Miss., has been entertaining rodeo fans for more than 15 years. His comedy acts, clean humor, and off-the-wall antics have earned him several awards including five times being selected as the Cowboy's Professional Rodeo Association's Contract Act of the Year.
Burton is the subject of the award winning documentary "Man in the Can." For more information about Burton and the film go to www.maninthecanmovie.com, or go to Facebook at Man in the Can and Ronald Burton Rodeo Clown.
"Rodeo fans are the greatest fans in the whole world," Burton said in a press release, "and that's why I take great pride in putting on a show that the whole family will enjoy."
Sports on 06/15/2016