Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair

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Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair logo

Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair is an annual rodeo and fair located in the town of Cloverdale in Surrey, British Columbia. It is held annually at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds during the Victoria Day holiday weekend, from the Friday to Monday.

Attendance in 2006 was over 20,000.

1 History
2 Events
3 Controversy
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The Cloverdale Agriplex, one of the venues for the rodeo.

The fair was first held in September 1888 in the Surrey Municipal Hall and grounds. In 1938, the fair was moved to its current location at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.

The rodeo was first held in 1945 and proved so popular that it was taken over by the Lower Fraser Valley Agricultural Association in 1947.

In 1962, the fair was taken over by the Fraser Valley Exhibition Society, and in 1994, the fair and rodeo were renamed the Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition Association.

In 1996, the 109 year-old annual fall fair was incorporated into the May rodeo weekend.

[edit] Events

The Stetson Bowl Stadium, one of the rodeo venues.

There are cooking, baking and canning competitions, arts and crafts displays and horticulture and livestock exhibits.

Since 1977, on the Thursday before the Fair, there has been a bed race in downtown Cloverdale, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

A parade is held on the Saturday of the Fair, and a midway hosts games and rides.

For children, there are 4H club displays and children's entertainers.

[edit] Controversy

Although the country fair proves to be fun for the entire family, the rodeo proves to be quite controversial. Every year the entrance to the rodeo is lined with animal welfare activists holding placards and distributing leaflets. The activists claim that although many people enjoy the rodeo, it is certainly no fun for the animals involved. Allegedly, bucking straps, electric prods, spurs, and physical abuse are used to terrorize the animals into action. For the past several years, animal right activists have taken their protests a step further and moved them into the arena. Rodeo goers have seen everything from banners unfurled in the stands to activists attempting to handcuff themselves to chute gates in an attempt to stop the alleged cruelty.