2 months to go: planning and prep on track for 2026 Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair<\/p>\n
Published 10:00 pm Wednesday, March 11, 2026<\/p>\n
Planning and preparation for the 2026 Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair is nearly complete.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest events in Surrey and the Fraser Valley, Rodeo Weekend, as it is known locally, is just over two months away.<\/p>\n
Kathy Sheppard, Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association (CREA) president, said all that\u2019s left now is to dot the i\u2019s and cross the t\u2019s on a few remaining things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ready to go,\u201d Sheppard told the Cloverdale Reporter at a special 2026 rodeo and fair launch event. \u201cWe just had a production meeting with the whole group and everything is looking really great. We\u2019re happy with the team and the way everything has been planned. We couldn\u2019t have asked for a better lead up to rodeo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of that planning and prep, she noted, was to schedule the highest number of artists and acts ever to play at the rodeo and fair. She said there are more than 100 artists booked to perform on one of 10 stages over the now five-day Rodeo Weekend\u2014May 14-18.<\/p>\n
Sheppard also said six artists that are scheduled to play are up for music awards in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could be award winners by the time the rodeo arrives,\u201d she added. \u201cOur artist lineup is spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheppard said she\u2019s excited to see Cooper Alan when he opens the 135th Cloverdale Country Fair and the 78th Cloverdale Rodeo on Thursday, May 14, the first Thursday concert in more than a dozen years.<\/p>\n
She was also happy to announce the return of something the fair hasn\u2019t seen in nearly 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re bringing back demolition derby,\u201d she revealed. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had a demolition derby since the \u201970s. We\u2019ll hold that in the parking lot near the back stretch, just down from the Longhorn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the most popular attractions are returning, including: the ever-favourite midway, BMX riders, All-Star Wrestling, the West Coast Logger Show, among others. The Brick Corral is back, the Kidz Zone, Farm friendz, and many other attractions.<\/p>\n
The Indigenous Village also returns for the 2026 rodeo and fair and will be bigger than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have six teepees this year,\u201d Sheppard noted. \u201cSo, that\u2019s being expanded. The stage there is huge and we\u2019ll have a ton of great artists performing on the Indigenous Stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the venue \u201cRodeo Reds,\u201d the brainchild of rodeo producer Kynan Vine, will be back as well. (And Vine is back too.) Although it will take a slightly different form this year, getting \u201ctrue to its roots\u201d as it will a be smaller, more intimate venue than last year. As such it will be located on the other side of the Longhorn, out in front of the Coverall Building.<\/p>\n
\u201cRodeo Reds will be open all day and people will be able to do line dancing, two-stepping. There\u2019ll be a band in there and it\u2019ll be open to all ages until 10 o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last but not least, Sheppard said, tons of the top rodeo competitors and point getters in North America will be vying for prize money in the Stetson Bowl over five rodeo performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much to see at the rodeo and fair,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd the great part is that most attractions are all included with your Fairgrounds admission ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n