Final preparations underway for 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - With the start of the 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade now less than a day away, final preparations are taking place today at the Elks Event Center.
Starting at sunrise Tuesday morning, dozens of Elks volunteers, vendors, workers and others involved with the rodeo have been setting up, getting the facility ready for the thousands of visitors that will arrive on Thursday for the start of the four-day event.
"We're hours away from the 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo, said Johnna McGuire, Elks Recreation media director "Honestly, we couldn't be more excited. There's just an electricity in the air. We're ready for it. It's going to be a great, great year!"
With showtime for the rodeo drawing near, Tuesday's final preparations marked the culmination of several months of hard work by the entire Elks Recreation organization.
"It's amazing," said Peter Sterling, Elks Recreation President. "We have a lot of committees and everything else and it all comes together. We work together, coordinate, and everybody communicates here well, and we all seem to get along. That's why we do so well. We can't just twinkle our nose and make it happen. Everybody obviously has to put in the workload and we do."
The rodeo begins Wednesday night with a full night of world class bull riding during the Xtreme Bulls event beginning at 7 p.m.
This marks the second straight year the Elks Rodeo has featured a fifth day of competition following last year's first-ever five-day event, which also included Xtreme Bulls opening on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the four-day long PRCA rodeo kicks off with the the first day of all-around competition.
The rodeo will begin on Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., 6 p.m. on Saturday and close with the final day of action starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade will be held May 27-31 31 at the Elks Event Center, located just off of Santa Maria Way on the east side of Highway 101.
For more information about the rodeo, or to purchase tickets, visit elksrec.com.
The post Final preparations underway for 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo appeared first on News Channel 3-12.