MOOSOMIN — A big weekend is coming up in Moosomin July 11 and 12. The weekend starts with the annual Town of Moosomin Barbecue, which Mayor Murray Gray says is a large draw for locals.
“Every year that’s what we do to kick off the rodeo weekend on the Friday,” he said. “All the council and some of the staff set up behind the town office, and we use it as a kickoff for the weekend.
“This will be my ninth one, and I don’t think it’s rained once.”
A crowd of 500 to 600 is anticipated, with proceeds raised each year going to a local group, with this year’s recipient 小蓝视频 Age Friendly Moosomin.
Saturday is going to be a busy day, starting with a pancake breakfast at the fire hall from 7 to 10 a.m. At $10 for adults and $5 for 10 and under, it’s a great way to gear up for the parade and support the Moosomin Fire Department, as proceeds go toward equipment.
After a filling breakfast cooked up by local firefighters, it’s time to take in what promises to be another explosive Moosomin Chamber of Commerce Parade. This year’s theme is “Fireworks Fiesta” in celebration of a return of the Living Skies Come Alive fireworks competition at Moosomin Regional Park this summer. Marshalling for the parade starts at 9 a.m. behind McNaughton High School, with the parade winding its way through town at 10 a.m.
Following the parade is a Ukrainian buffet at the Moosomin Armoury Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fill up on perogies, cabbage rolls, sausage, dessert and a pop for only $20.
Roman Chernykh is preparing the delicious lunch with money raised going toward the MacLeod Elementary School Playground Fund.
Afterwards, people can head over to the Moosomin Visual Arts Centre at 701 Ellie Street to check out their summer market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is the second year the MVAC has held their summer market, featuring 25 vendors.
Bulls and Broncs
After the daytime events, the Bulls and Broncs event takes place in the evening at the Angus Turpie Memorial Arena. This is the fifth year for the event, and organizers are anticipating around 1,000 people in attendance.
“Last year, we had 20-plus bull riders and a significant number of horse riders,” said Chelan Dequier of the Bulls and Broncs committee. “We’re definitely hoping for the same, if not better. Of course, it’s the bull riding. Is what lots of people come to see, but the horses are important as well.”
All of the action starts at 7 pm, and one big draw this year is the added $7,500 plus double points in the BRC standings.
“That added money is important for everybody, it definitely adds that factor for guys to try and make our event,” Dequier said. “We feel it brings them to have that extra level when they go into the short go-round there and try and win that extra cash.”
An added draw for participants to compete in the Moosomin event is the fact that it’s held the day after Whitewood’s event as well — a busy double-header weekend in the middle of Cowboy Christmas.
“Whitewood runs their Bull Bash on the 11th, so we really hope that it works that way with us now 小蓝视频 one night in Whitewood and one night here,” Dequier said. “Every year, we have challenges with different events that are on the same weekend, but we just hope that there’s either a rider that’s bringing some fans, or we are a big enough event now that provide enough things in our event that people want to come out and experience that.
“Whitewood and us are both very different events, but we’re both very similar as well,” she continued. “We all have the same hope in the end, and we both have the Calcutta, which is exciting for the committee on both sides, as well as the bidders. It’s a great event to try and get people out to have that experience themselves, that lots of guys that may only go to a few rodeos or go to ridings a few times a year get to experience.”
In the Calcutta, the Bulls and Broncs crew usually donates a significant amount back to the community. This year, the group is going to try something new to help spread that good fortune around.
“Last year, we knew we were going to donate to the daycare,” Dequier said. “This year, we are going to try something different and donate to a few different local organizations that mean a lot to a few of us in the group rather than just one organization. So that’s something to look forward to, that we can go through and select some groups or organizations that we feel we would like to help out.”
Following the riding events is a cabaret featuring the pride of Portage la Prairie and MCMA ‘Roots Artist of the Year’ for 2024, singer/songwriter Nelson Little.
“I’ve discussed with Quinton Blair, this is our fifth year of Bulls and Broncs, but maybe it’s time for a little bit of a change up, we’ve had you for the last two years,” Dequier explained. “So Nelson Little was actually one of his top recommendations to bring in for us, and a little fun fact there is that Nelson Little and Quinton Blair actually share quite a few band members. There a few of them on the stage, so that’s neat to bring that in. We’re really excited for him to come down and have some new sound in the arena for the cabaret and a new atmosphere.”
Finally, an honour presented at the Bulls and Broncs is the Volunteer of the Year, and while Dequier noted the identity of this year’s recipient will be something folks will need to see in person, there was one change from last year.
“This year, we actually have two recipients,” she said. “I’m not going to say any names, it is a bit of a surprise for everybody coming.”
