Clear skies and sunshine blessed the Kinsmen Fairgrounds on the last day of the Rainmaker Rodeo, a welcome escape from the weekend’s otherwise dreary weather.
Rodeo organizers were hoping to be in Mother Nature’s good graces this year, “but being an outdoor event, that’s what happens,” said Patrick Dower, rodeo chair.
“It put a damper on the amount of people we had, but it didn’t put a damper on the spirits of the Kinsmen.”
Dower estimated that attendance numbers, and thus funds raised, were down 30 per cent from previous years. High winds, gusting up to 40 kilometres per hour, closed some midway rides on Friday evening but business picked up Saturday and Sunday, Dower noted.
According to the National Climate Data and Information Archive, the Edmonton region received about 14 millimetres of rain over the weekend, less than the 25 millimetres that was forecast.
“Sunday was amazing, the people were just flooding down here,” said Dower, adding that Sunday’s weather wasn’t the rodeo’s only “big hit.”
New additions to Rainmaker – the dog and horse race and female lumberjacks in the West Coast Lumberjacks Show – also received rave reviews. Organizers plan to host an all-female lumberjack show next year.
Despite the large amount of people flocking to the rodeo grounds, local police encountered few problems.
“We did have to deal with some people who had too much to drink, but for the most part people were great,” said Cpl. Laurel Kading of the St. Albert RCMP. “It’s exactly what we wanted to see.”
RCMP officers held checkstops on both Friday and Saturday nights, handing out a handful of 24-hour driving suspensions. Kading noted there was a strong RCMP and overall security presence at the grounds.
Dower said the Kinsmen are already planning for next year’s rodeo, however this will be his second (and last) year as rodeo chair.
“We’ve changed the process now (so) the rodeo chair goes every two years. It keeps it fresh … and spreads the wealth of knowledge throughout the club,” he said. “(The last two years) have been nothing but pure bliss.”
