The Gerry Fire Department’s 75 annual PRCA rodeo opens the gates for the first of four performances this Wednesday evening, July 31, at 8:00 and continues through Saturday, August 3, with more than 220 professional cowboys and cowgirls from across the nation competing for $50,000 in prize money in the seven traditional rodeo events.
In addition to saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, bull riding, and cowgirls’ barrel racing, the rodeo will feature the antics of one of the all-time great performers in rodeo history as Keith Isley brings his comedy and his trained horses to entertain the fans.
The traditional beef barbecue dinners are served each evening beginning at 5:00 in the air-conditioned dining hall featuring beef cooked for eight hours outdoors over wood fires and served with the secret recipe sauce, deep-fried potatoes, corn, salad, cottage cheese, and a drink.
The midway with more than 20 vendors offering everything from cotton candy to Western wear also opens at 5:00 and features a number of attractions for kids – face painting, sand art, pony rides, a corn-filled “sand box”, and a kids’ ID station. In addition, there is a free kids’ rodeo at 4:00 on Saturday in the arena for kids ages 3-8 where they can play rodeo related games supervised by rodeo performers.
Cowboys and cowgirls will be available after each performance for autographs and photos just outside the ticket booths. For the first time ever in Gerry, fireworks will light the skies at the conclusion of the rodeo each night to help celebrate 75 years of bring professional rodeo to Western New York.
This rodeo is now the longest consecutively running rodeo east of the Mississippi and is the major fund-raising event for the Gerry Volunteer Fire Department as they answer more than 300 fire and EMS calls each year. Additional information is available at the rodeo website www.gerryrodeo.orgor by phone at (716) 985-4847 or 1-888-985-847
Photos: Steer wrestling and cowgirls’ barrel racing are two of the seven events being contested each night.
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