CAVE CREEK – Last month, the board of the Desert Foothills Community Association (DFCA), the umbrella nonprofit organization that put on the Fiesta Days Pro Rodeo and Parade, voted at the last minute to hijack the rodeo from Cave Creek on what would be the 40th anniversary of the town’s most popular event and move it to Buckeye.
They said the decision was made so they could “grow the rodeo,” since Cave Creek can’t afford to invest as much money in the Cave Creek Memorial Rodeo Grounds as they would like. They balked at the $185,000 or so the town spent on the rodeo grounds over the last two years or its progress on other requested improvements.
Mayor Ernie Bunch said he would do everything in his power to ensure Cave Creek would continue holding its annual rodeo and parade.
Bunch was able to assemble a new board, enlist new volunteers and keep Cave Creek’s place in the rodeo circuit.
Bunch said the town will definitely hold what has now been renamed the Cave Creek Rodeo Days PRCA Pro Rodeo & Parade, since DFCA also hijacked the Fiesta Days name and registered a number of variations as trade names.
The parade is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 25 and rodeo performances will be held at 7 p.m. on March, 31 and April 1 and at 1 p.m. on April 2.
General admission tickets (first come, first serve seating) will be sold at the gate for $20 with kids under 5 free.
The lineup of contestants will be posted soon.
Anyone interested in volunteering can download a volunteer packet online or email [email protected].
Applications for vendor space are also available online or may be requested by email to [email protected].
To sponsor or advertise with Cave Creek Rodeo Days, download a sponsor packet online or email [email protected] or [email protected], respectively.
Applications to be an entry in the parade are also available online or via email to [email protected].
Visiting rodeo queens may contact [email protected] for more information.
Call 480-304-5634 for additional information about participation in this year’s Rodeo Days events or email [email protected].
Meanwhile, Traci Casale, president of DFCA/Fiesta Days Pro Rodeo announced on Feb. 3 that the hijacked Fiesta Days Pro Rodeo, originally scheduled for March 31 and April 1 in Buckeye, has been canceled and an update on the Ned Ledoux concert will be forthcoming.
Burning bridges with the town on the 40th anniversary of its most popular signature event seems to have backfired on DFCA, which deemed growing the rodeo far more important than its decades-long community association with Cave Creek.
