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40th Annual
th Annual Pro Rodeo
Nicola Valley Fall Fair and
SATURDAY, SEPT. 5 & SUNDAY, SEPT. 6
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GATES OPEN: 3 PM PERFORM PERFORMANCES: 5 PM
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WHO WILL WIN
CALCUTTA AUCTION to be held on
Come down early and let the kids burn off some energy with our
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David Dyck THE MERRITT HERALD
Saturday - 5 pm & Sunday - 1 pm at the Rodeo Grounds Come watch local business people try to wrestle a calf and dress it in underwear. A little friendly competition - with the wind ners donating the winnings to a local charity of their choice.
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FRIDAY, SEPT. 4 - 7 PM AT THE GRAND PUB AND GRILL
WINNER WILL TAKE HOME THE POT AND HELP OUT A LOCAL CHARITY HWdY^ >WdZ IWZZb[ 8hedY 9ecf[j_j_ed for a chance to win tickets
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It’s that time of the year again. This weekend, Sept. 5 and 6 is the annual Nicola Valley Fall Fair. Experienced fairgoers already know what to expect — for the most part. There’s the best of the best in canned foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, baking, flowers, home made beer and wine, artwork on display and livestock to be judged. It’s all of the things that have brought folks out to the Nicola Valley Fall Fair for 40 consecutive years, and before that since the original fair was held in 1910. Fair organizer and treasurer Kathy Reimer said to expect a lot of entries from kids this year. “We have a very large student section, it’s probably the biggest in the fair,” she said. There are four different age groups, ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Expect to see a lot of photography there as well, as it is the second largest collection next to the students. She estimated they
received about a thousand photographs. And although all of the usual sights, sounds and smells can be expected, there’s also something new this year: a garden tractor pull. Similar to a tractor pull, contestants will compete to determine whose garden tractor is the best. “It’s quite interesting,” remarked Reimer. She said a particularly popular display is the old tractor and engine show, put on by the Vintage Car Club. “A lot of the people love that, the old engines that ‘put, put put,’” she said. “It brings back old times I guess.” Reimer referred back to the time when the fall fair was a post-harvest social gathering. “It’s where people gather to visit,” she explained. “In the old days it was after the crops were done, and it was a gathering place. Basically it still is. People come and see people they haven’t seen in a long time, and they mingle. It’s really nice.”
See ‘Fair’ Page 2
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BEER GARDENS LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: HALF TIME SHOW KEN McCOY 3 x World Champion SATURDAY NIGHT Hoop Dancer ALEX WELLS
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YOUR MAP TO THE NICOLA VALLEY RODEO GROUNDS!
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RODEO
Fall fair features the best of the best Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo: 57 years and counting
GATES OPEN: 11 AM PERFORMANCES: 1 PM
BUSINESSMEN’S CALF DRESSING
Get'er Done
57th Pro
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Tickets available at the gate: 10 & under FREE, Students & Seniors - $12, Adults - $15 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: For more info phone Allison Thompson at 250-315-3016 or Karen Coldwell at 250-378-1578
The parade returns for 2015 It’s back! After several years on hiatus, the parade has returned to the Nicola Valley Fall Fair and Pro Rodeo weekend. Put on by the Merritt Chamber of Commerce, the parade will feature some 30 floats from a diverse array of participants. It will take place Saturday, Sept. 5, starting at 11 a.m., leaving from Voigt park and making its way along Quilchena before dispersing on Charters. There will be an emcee to announce the processon at the Canadian Country Music The Mamit Lake Hillbillies Staggering Stalks, winners of the 2004 parade. Herald archives Hall of Fame.
Ian Webster THE MERRITT HERALD
The 57th edition of the Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo on the Labour Day weekend in Merritt once again promises to be one of the best ever with spectacular displays of skill, courage and horsemanship by some of the best cowboys and cowgirls on the planet and a whole mess of additional fun and entertainment to boot. The Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo Association’s experiment with two different performance times last year proved to be an unqualified success, so once again there will be a late afternoon/evening performance on Saturday starting at 5 p.m., followed by a Sunday matinee show kicking off at 1 p.m. Sunday is officially ‘Family Day’ at the rodeo. There’ll be special activities for the youngsters in a kid zone and a shoe scramble for the wee ones at the intermission. Sunday’s crowd will also be treated to two kids’ rodeo events at half time, as the Nicola Valley’s best duke it out in mutton bustin’ (sheep riding) and in peewee barrel racing. Saturday’s intermission will see the Nicola Valley’s top ranch hands go toe-to-toe in the saddle bronc event. Douglas Lake cowboys will be wanting to put on a good show in front of a hometown audience against their rivals from other ranches throughout the southern Interior. There’s even more entertainment both days! The Cariboo Drill Team from Williams Lake will be performing, as will world-champion hoop dancer Alex Wells from Pemberton. And then there’s the unforgettable Get-Down Rodeo Clown — Merritt’s own Jayson Charters. Let’s not forget the businessmen’s calf-dressing event. It kicks off the action in the arena on Saturday and Sunday. For the grown-up crowd on Saturday night, there’ll be a rodeo dance in the beer
RIP-ROARIN’ ACTION Saddle bronc (above) is just one of several exciting roughstock events at the annual Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo. Ian Webster/Herald
garden immediately following the evening performance, featuring the Ken McCoy Band. Admission is free with your rodeo ticket, or just $5 if you’re a johnny-come-lately. Once again this year, the Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo has attracted some of the best professional rodeo competitors in the business. Everyone’s trying to earn those precious points that will earn them a spot at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton in October. Turn to the Sports section of this weeks Merritt Herald for more details on who’s coming. To encourage young and old alike to come out and enjoy the rodeo, the Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo’s ticket prices can’t be beat, with adults at $15, students and seniors $12 and all children 10 and under absolutely free! Tickets for both days of the rodeo can be purchased in advance at Purity Feed or at the gate.
Pop by, hook up & load up your new trailer! ICBC & PRIVATE INSURANCE CLAIMS
KICK OFF RODEO WEEKEND, VISIT US ONLINE AT www.nicolavalleyprorodeo.com
250-378-4628
Located next to Best-Valu Glass • 2663 GRANITE AVENUE • Located next to Fountain Tire
250-378-4531