ESTEVAN — The big and loud Energy City Ex is returning to Estevan from Thursday, June 8 to Sunday, June 11, thanks to the Estevan Exhibition Association (EEA).
The four-day fair and rodeo will bring a lot of beloved entertainment back and will also offer many new fun opportunities. Not only will Estevan have a chance to enjoy the rides during the week and on the weekend, but the KCRA Rodeo program has also grown and will occupy three days from June 9-11. The KCRA Rodeo is expected to see about 250 participants both local and from outside the city.
"Adding that third day is going to be really, really big," said Estevan Exhibition Association president Crystal Ross.
She explained that riders who want to go onto finals have to qualify with so many rodeos. But they also have to do 51 per cent of each rodeo. With most rodeos being a two-day weekend, it sometimes becomes tough for participants to qualify, and the three-day event helps competitors with their summer schedule and turns the Energy City Ex into an even greater attraction.
The big weekend will open up with the traditional SMILE Services Parade ending at the fairgrounds on the Thursday. West Coast Amusements will welcome the first riders of the midway starting at 4 p.m. on June 8. A kids' rodeo, featuring young local talents, will take place on the first day as well.
Ross said there will be another event on that Thursday, but she preferred to "keep this cat in the bag" for now.
New for this year will be a big quilt show, with masters from many different areas displaying their work throughout all four days. There also will be many food options.
"Our wonderful food vendors are going to be back and some extras are showing up this year," Ross said.
On Friday gates for the midway will open at 4 p.m., and the main rodeo performance will start at 7 p.m. at the Graham Collie Arena on the EEA grounds.
Saturday is traditionally be one of the busiest days. The gates will open at noon for the rides, and the rodeo action will start at 7 p.m. The Johner Brothers and Sons will be the main act at a cabaret that night. Saturday will also see a free stage for local talents and entertainers.
"I'm excited about that one," Ross said.
Entries are not open yet, but Ross said people can start thinking about what they could do, as the stage will be open to any kind of talent, be it juggling, playing drums or guitar, singing, dancing or anything else.
Also on Saturday, new for the contemporary Energy City Ex. will be the King of the Prairies Steer and Heifer Jackpot Show, hosted by the Benson 4-H Club as their main fundraiser.
"We're going to have some cattle showing, which is a part of the old-time fair that it's been missing for the last few years," Ross noted, adding that they are already accepting entries for the show. "And it's open for anybody [to participate]."
Sunday morning there will be a cowboy church service at the grounds. The gates for the rides will open at noon again, and the matinee rodeo performance is at 2 p.m.
Beer gardens and many other entertainment options for guests of all ages will be available at the grounds Thursday through Sunday.
The EEA is also calling for rodeo princesses to put their names up to compete for the title of Rodeo Queen. Registration is now open and will close at the end of April. Organizers encourage anyone in southeast Saskatchewan who is ready for a season of personal and horsemanship growth, who would like support in their local horse community, want a scholarship award for college, is 15-19 years old, and wants to make some awesome memories this summer to enter the contest.
"It's open to anybody in southeast Saskatchewan as long as they can compete and have a horse. And they can borrow a horse, they can rent a horse and they can ride their own horse. It's wide open," said Rhonda Gillespie with EEA.
The contestants will compete in four disciplines: ticket sales, speeches, horsemanship, and appearance and personality. They'll be working on some of the components ahead of time, while others will be judged during the rodeo.
"Ticket sales will start May 1. This year we're going to change it up a little bit, and we're going to do the horsemanship component prior to the start of the fair, so they don't have to be under pressure when attending the rodeo parade and the kids' rodeo. Their horsemanship pattern will be done ahead of time [on June 5]. Then they'll be required to ride in the parade, and they will be in attendance with the kids' rodeo, which would be Thursday night,” said Gillespie.
“The crowning will take place before the start of the rodeo performance on Saturday. And then they will be leading the grand entry for Saturday's performance and Sunday's performance. They'll also have to ride in the grand entry for Friday night, but they won't be crowned until Saturday.”
She said last year's return of the queen contest was a success. The girls helped promote the association and also pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and grew personally and professionally.
Anyone willing to partake or find out more about the Rodeo Queen contest can reach out to Gillespie at 306-421-9701 or Stacey Holtz at 306-421-2262.
Gillespie also encouraged the businesses and people to decorate the community ahead of the weekend and make it feel festive for themselves and many guests that will be in town for those four days. People and businesses are encouraged to put up some signage and decorate windows or the front of stores or homes. Straw bales, cowboy attire and any other kind of rodeo symbols, as well as any other ways to make the city look a bit more festive and welcoming can be used.
"Our contestants come from every corner. There are some that come from Manitoba. Some come from Alberta, and pretty much every corner of Saskatchewan. They come and they support our businesses and stuff, so it'd be nice to show some excitement in the community by welcoming these people in," Gillespie added.
While Ross said the EEA has an "awesome board", to make the fully loaded four days of action an absolute success, they would need more volunteers to join them and help with many different tasks from running gates, to helping at beer gardens and many more efforts.
Anyone interested in volunteering can send an email to eea@sasktel.net.
