Surrey\u2019s famous rodeo and fair returns to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds May long weekend.<\/p>\n
The Cloverdale Rodeo is celebrating its 78th anniversary and the Cloverdale Country Fair is celebrating its 135th.<\/p>\n
Kathy Sheppard, president of the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association (CREA), said she\u2019s looking forward to welcoming everyone to the Fairgrounds again. She added there are a ton of new things happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just super excited to see everything come together,\u201d Sheppard said. \u201cOur sales are about two-and-a-half weeks ahead of schedule this year. The weather is looking great. The new Thursday night kickoff concert is going to be fantastic!\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with expanding to a fifth day (Thursday) with the new kickoff concert and open Fairgrounds, several other new attractions are making their debut: Rodeo Sneak-a-Peak, a drone show, a rodeo tailgate party, the Backstretch Action Zone, kid-focused attractions, free skating and mini golf, and many others.<\/p>\n
Sheppard noted everyone with CREA is excited about it because the new attractions represent a collaboration. Half of the new ones were ideas that came from the rodeo association, the other half were ideas that came from the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic that the community is supporting us and adding their input to the event,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just as excited about everything new that\u2019s happening this year as we are with the new partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two such collaborations are with Evergreen Herbs and Heppell\u2019s Potato Corporation. Both are delivering the Evergreen Herbs & Heppell Potato Mini Farm. It will be located outside Farm Friendz. The mini farm is in keeping with the rodeo and fair\u2019s goal of educating people on the farm to table pathway. Surrey Eagles owners Ron and TJ Brar own Evergreen Herbs and Tyler Heppell owns Heppell\u2019s Potato Corporation. (Heppell started the wildly popular Ugly Potato Day\u2014now held on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.)<\/p>\n
Another new event that is re-emerging\u2014last held more than 40-odd years ago\u2014is demolition derby. And CREA is also adding in a motocross attraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just great to have (derby) back. It\u2019s going to be amazing. And same with the motocross. We saw motocross at another event last summer and reached out to them \u2026 so we\u2019re thrilled that they\u2019ll be here,\u201d Sheppard explained. \u201cThey\u2019ll all be in the Backstretch Action Zone, so there\u2019ll be tons to do in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Included in that area, alongside motocross and the derby, will be the West Coast Lumberjack Show, All Star Wrestling, and others.<\/p>\n
CREA works hard each year, Sheppard emphasized, to add in new events and features to the rodeo and fair, both expanding and elevating one of B.C.\u2019s most iconic events. She noted they will continue to do so for all future events.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re getting so much value for your Fairgrounds admission ticket,\u201d she said. \u201cYou could spend all day on the \u2018Grounds going to the different stages and seeing the different shows for no additional cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
The familiar May long weekend event (May 14-18, expanded by one day this year) unofficially opens with the Cloverdale Bed Races on Wednesday, May 13 at about 6 p.m. That is followed by the new Thursday night official kick-off concert\u2014this year featuring headliners Cooper Alan and Brett Kissel. The rodeo parade will roll at 10 a.m. on May 16 (Saturday morning) and will include floats, marching bands, dance groups, clowns, cowboys and cowgirls on horses, and some classic automobiles.<\/p>\n
The rodeo will feature roughstock rodeo events\u2014bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding\u2014along with ladies barrel racing, specialty acts, mutton bustin\u2019, and rodeo clown acts.<\/p>\n
There will be five competitions in the Stetson Bowl for the 2026 rodeo: May 15 @ 7:30 p.m.; May 16 @ 2 p.m. and @ 7:30 p.m.; May 17 @ 2 p.m.; and May 18 @ 2 p.m. (finals).<\/p>\n
Ninety-six of the world\u2019s best cowboys and cowgirls will battle for more than $300,000 in prize money. And there will also be autograph sessions with rodeo athletes after each competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cRodeo Weekend,\u201d as it is known locally, also promises visitors a whole slate of other events too, including: live musical acts and entertainment, food trucks, midway rides and games, along with a multitude of other feature attractions. Many fan faves are returning this year, along with the livestock display, the Indigenous Village, and the \u201cBuckaroo Barn\u201d in the Cloverdale Rec. Centre (formerly called the Kids Zone)\u2014among many other features.<\/p>\n
Sheppard also wanted to acknowledge the army of volunteers who help make the rodeo a success. More than 450 people will help out in some way over the weekend and she added CREA couldn\u2019t do it without them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also partnering with Storehouse (Community Hub Society),\u201d she added. \u201cThey\u2019re coming back to volunteer with us again this year, so we\u2019re really excited about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first Cloverdale Rodeo was held in 1945 and the first Country Fair was held in 1888.<\/p>\n