The St. Albert Rainmaker has rebranded and dropped the name "rodeo" from the title, however the rodeo events will continue through the festival.
The event, which started as a rodeo back in 1965, has been called the St. Albert Rainmaker Rodeo for decades, said Colten Amyotte, the vice-chair of St. Albert Rainmaker.
But this year, the event has decided to rename itself and drop the "rodeo" from the official title.
“It's been the Rainmaker Rodeo since I was a kid,” Amyotte said.
“We've just kind of ventured more beyond just a rodeo now.”
Over the years the event has added a concert series, the midway, and marketplace to the slate of events taking place on May 27 to May 29.
“To name it just the Rainmaker Rodeo was kind of unfitting, I guess, now at this point,” Amyotte said.
The vice-chair said they also wanted to rebrand because they have had trouble in the past attracting sponsors because of the inclusion of “rodeo” in the title.
“We've actually experienced it in the past where some companies only want to sponsor their name in the concert area. They don't want it down in the rodeo. I'm not too sure [of] the reasoning behind it,” Amyotte said.
Although the rodeo has been dropped from the name, the same rodeo events will still be present over the weekend.
Rodeo enthusiasts can still expect to see bull riding, bronco riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, barrel racing, and a comedy clown between events. In the past the rodeo has included chuck wagon racing and chariots, although the current rodeo grounds don’t have the track for those events anymore.
And for anyone wanting to spend the weekend taking in the events, they can see a rock concert on Friday featuring Prism and Clayton Bellamy followed by a country show on Saturday, featuring Aaron Goodvin and Corey Marks. The pancake breakfast and parade will return to the event on Saturday May 28 at City Hall Plaza.
Amyotte said there will also be a family entertainment area between the rodeo and the fairgrounds which in the past has hosted a petting zoo and inflatable balloons.
This will be the return of St. Albert’s longest-running festival, after a forced two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
The festival started in 1965 and has been held nearly every year since its inception, although COVID-19 and a few years of snow have cancelled the event several times.
The St. Albert Rainmaker runs on May 27 to May 29.
