Rodeo foundation, Cloverdale Chamber to host 3rd annual Chicken Dance
Published 5:00 pm Monday, April 6, 2026
The third annual “Chicken Dance” is back.
The fundraising dinner and dance will be held once again a few weeks ahead of the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair.
The Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce is once again partnering with the Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Initiative Foundation (CRYIF) to put on the event. Proceeds from the dinner and dance will go to support scholarships for youth and the Cloverdale Chamber. CRYIF scholarships reward Grade 12 students in the community that have volunteered in some capacity with the Rodeo Association and are furthering their education—whatever the post-high school institution.
“It’s going to be great,” said Tania Smythe, a board member with CRYIF. “You’ll get a delicious meal from Henry’s Chicken BBQ and we’ll have live music and dancing from the band Lawless.”
Smythe said three of four VIP suites are already sold out.
“All the money raised goes to support a good cause,” she added.
“We have a trip to Vegas that had been donated for our silent auction,” Smythe added. “We’ve got a whole bunch of great donations from the community for our silent auction.”
She said, along with CRYIF, the Chamber’s Scott Wheatley and Cheryl White have done a lot of work to help organize the dinner and dance.
The Chicken Dance is an historic Chamber and Rodeo event. The dance was held for least 25 years beginning in the early ‘60s and ending sometime in the late ’80s or early ’90s, making it about a 30-or-so-year break between the original dance and its modern recinacation.
The dance, both historically and its modern return, have been about the community rallying together for a good cause and coming together to get behind the town’s biggest event of the year.
“We’re hoping for great community support again.”
The dance is on May 2 and offers an official kickoff to Rodeo Month in the city.
The dance will be held in the Show Barn this year. Tickets are $65 (plus fees and taxes). Doors open at 6 p.m. The Show Barn is located at 17763 62nd Avenue on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.
For more info, or to buy tickets, visit showpass.com and search “chicken dinner.”