2023 marks year 80 of the annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo, and Wednesday morning, vendors, volunteers and rodeo officials were wrapping up their months of preparation for the weekend event.
“We are kicking into high gear,” said rodeo spokesperson, Johnna Clark McGuire. “We have got banners going up, midway vendors, we have got all the electronics going up. In just a few hours, the livestock will be rolling in so the excitement is mounting.”
She says in the past three months, hundreds of volunteers and rodeo grounds crews have been hard at work getting the site ready for the four-day spectacle.
“Hours and hours were spent grooming the dirt to make sure it is perfect for them, not just for safety, of course, first and foremost, but for fast rides. That is what we are looking for,” she added.
“We have everything from landscaping to weed whacking, to fixing structures, fixing stalls, then decorating. There is a lot that goes into it,” added rodeo greeter, Karmen Gunn.
Gunn and Sharon Bowling say they are both coming up on 25 years of participating in the yearly rodeo. They say they are the first ones who will greet you when you drive on the grounds this weekend, adding that the community impact keeps them coming back for more.
“The comradery with everybody! Seeing our cowboys, our contestants and our cowgirls that are so happy and smiling and everybody loving it,” Bowling said.
Meanwhile, Santa Maria Rodeo newcomer Lori Couto was putting the final touches on her food truck Wednesday morning, ready for a boost in business from the weekend crowds.
“It is a great thing! I think the community needs it, you get to visit with people, you get to meet a lot of vendors,” Couto told KSBY.
And though the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo celebrates its 80th birthday this year, Clark McGuire says the Thursday kickoff to the weekend never fails to give her chills.
“When that skydiver starts rodeo tomorrow night and you see that flag floating down and God Bless the USA, it is an emotional moment. To see everybody’s hard work come together, to know all the good that comes out of all the hard work, you feel nothing but blessed,” she said.
Clark McGuire says the winter’s rains also left the arena flooded with 27 inches of water, but thanks to the month’s-long maintenance efforts of their rodeo crews, the grounds are all set to go for Thursday's opening night performance.
The rodeo begins Thursday at 7 p.m. and continues through Sunday. Tickets range from $12 to $45.
