It’s time for rodeo fans to put on their cowboy hats and dust off their Western boots as Redding Rodeo Week is underway.
The rodeo, now in its 77th year, starts Wednesday for a four-night run at the Redding Rodeo Grounds. The festivities kicked off Saturday with the Redding Rodeo Association’s yearly steak feed and dance.
Wednesday is Native American Appreciation Night featuring dancers, sponsored by the Redding Rancheria, with full PRCA rodeo action.
Thursday is Family Night while Friday is dedicated to cancer awareness. The rodeo culminates Saturday with Armed Forces Night. Gates open at 5 p.m. each night for the 7 p.m. action.
As of last weekend, the Friday and Saturday performances were sold out.
As part of Rodeo Week, the yellow-shirted Asphalt Cowboys pitch in Tuesday with their staged holdup, which leads to cash contests with clues so the community can find stashed loot and reveal the identities of the masked Lone Stranger and Sidekick.
The Cowboys’ famous pancake breakfast runs from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday as the Market Street Promenade downtown fills with hot griddles and tables to feed hundreds of hungry flapjack lovers. Tickets are $6 presale or $7 at the gate.
The Cowboys put on the Redding Rodeo Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday leading up to that night’s final rodeo performance.
Meanwhile, a first-time event called Rodeo Church will take place for free at 7 p.m. Sunday, also at the rodeo grounds. Live music gets underway at 6 p.m. before Todd Pierce presents a live horse-breaking demonstration.
Mike Chapman is a veteran Northern California reporter and photojournalist who retired from the Redding Record Searchlight. His byline also has appeared in the USA TODAY Network, Siskiyou Daily News and the Eureka Times-Standard.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Boots on the ground: Rodeo Week arrives in Redding
Reporting by Mike Chapman, Special to the Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
