Successful rodeo weekend for ARGRA

Times Reporter   

 

The 21st Annual Canadian Rockies International Rodeo and Music Festival, hosted by the Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA), was a hit again this year, whether it was through the live entertainment or the rodeo itself.

“Basically this year  event-wise everything was pretty much the same year-to-year, we have our rodeo and there are no new events added,” said Drew Davidson, events co-ordinator for the Gay Rodeo. “We have still the favorites like the camp event such as wild drag, goat dressing as well as our regular ones.” 

The music event was a highlight for many that attended the rodeo as many musicians this year really showcased their talents which appealed to a lot of the crowd.

“Our music festival was really well received this year, we had a lot of really good acts and our Tornado nightclub had a large turnout which was good to see,” said Davidson. 

Considering the rainy and colder weather, the rodeo still had a great turnout with the conditions. “We had quite a number of people through our gates. On some days we had less seats in the stands but we had a busier music festival and I think that was being able to sit away from the wind,” said Davidson.

As for participants, “still fairly healthy, we did have a couple of unfortunate competitors that were turned away at the border due to improper veterinary qualifications to get into the country,” said Davidson.

 “The Rodeo School that we offered on Friday ended up being the largest number of students in both ARGRA history and in the International Gay Rodeo Association’s history,” said Davidson

The capacity was always good for not only the nightclub but also overall numbers per day.He also noted that the numbers were above last year’s totals.