Paul Orazietti says he wants to put the 鈥渙ld鈥� back into the 鈥淕rand, Old Rodeo.鈥�
To do that, he says he鈥檚 looking toward the past to bring back old rodeo events.
鈥淚t dovetails with who we are,鈥� explained Orazietti, the executive director of the Cloverdale BIA. 鈥淲e鈥檙e an old town. So the idea is to say, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 what we looked like. Here鈥檚 what we did.鈥欌��
This year marks the 75th Cloverdale Rodeo and the 132nd iteration of the Country Fair. Bot events are less than two months away and planning is in full swing.
It鈥檒l be the first rodeo since 2019 after cancellations because of COVID (2020 and 2021) and because of structural problems with the Stetson Bowl (2022). (Although the Lower Mainland has had one rodeo in that time, the Valley West Stampede was held at 91原创 Riders Arena on Labour Day weekend in 2022.)
Orazietti said he鈥檚 working on several events for 鈥淩odeo Weekend鈥� in May (Victoria Day weekend).
鈥淭he BIA is organizing the rodeo parade and the bed races,鈥� he noted. 鈥淚鈥檓 also working on a couple of other events, but they鈥檙e still in the planning stages.鈥�
Orazietti said he鈥檚 teaming up with the B.C. Truck Museum in an attempt to create a display in the Alice McKay Building that will recognize the history of Cloverdale鈥檚 Fire Hall No. 8 and its history, which encompasses the volunteer firefighters that once worked there.
SEE ALSO:
鈥淚鈥檓 on a committee that鈥檚 organizing the rodeo and they have a Lego display and one of the feature items is a recreation of Hall No. 8,鈥� explained Orazietti. 鈥淪o I鈥檇 like to get a real fire truck to put beside it and showcase the history of our past volunteer fire department and to go back and talk about the men that worked there.鈥�
He said some of the old volunteer firefighters passed away during the pandemic and he wants to honour them as part of the display.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 hoping to do is put in a firefighter display and have a number of projectors showcasing old photographs from the fire hall days and from the rodeo,鈥� he said. 鈥� The idea would be to put some vehicles in there and piggyback off the (recent) immersive van Gogh exhibit by projecting the images in a larger-than-life way.鈥�
He said the idea would be to put together a couple of different shows that can be projected on a loop playing throughout the day, one about the fair and rodeo, the town, and the firefighter history.
Some of the other events the committee has talked about resurrecting are the rodeo鈥檚 beard-growing contest, the tug-of-war contest, and the famous lumberjack contest. Orazietti cautioned, however, that nothing has officially been decided yet.
In terms of the parade, the route will be the same as in previous years and Orazietti said he already has four entries signed up.
The 2023 Cloverdale Rodeo Parade will start a 10 a.m May 20 from the corner of 177B Street and Highway 10. It will wind its way west on No. 10 and turn up 176th Street. The parade will then turn east on 58A Avenue before heading north on 176A Street. On 60th Avenue, the parade will turn east again and then head south on 177B Street before ending at 58 Avenue.
Orazietti said planning for the bed races is well underway with teams already signed up and few rivalry races already planned.
鈥淲e have a 91原创 high school, Brookswood I believe, that鈥檚 already challenged Lord Tweedsmuir right off the bat. The firefighters are in and a lot of others are too. So the words getting out and people are really excited about the bed races.鈥�
Orazietti said the chili cook off may be cancelled again.
鈥淎 new company has taken over the management of Clover square village,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭hey need about four months advance notice before planning an event. So we may have missed the window on that. It鈥檚 not 100 per cent cancelled, but I don鈥檛 think we have enough time to get it going.鈥�
Applications for the 2023 Cloverdale Bed Races can be found by and clicking on .
Applications for the rodeo parade can be found by and clicking on .
For more info, visit and .
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
Like us on and follow us on
