Nothing says summertime like a rodeo, live music and a country-dance – all of which you’ll find at Cochrane’s fifth annual SummerFest.
The event will run July 26 and 27 at the Cochrane Lions Rodeo Grounds and will have events for the whole family.
Brooks Tower is the director of the Cochrane and Area Events Society (CAES) and said the festival definitely reflects Cochrane as a community.
“We’ve always kept a strong route to Cochrane’s western heritage – to the agricultural component within Cochrane,” said Tower. “That is the chief way that we feel we connect to the heartbeat of this town.”
On Friday, there will be a family rodeo from 6:30 – 8 p.m. and an all-new “True Brit” pub night to follow.
“We will be opening the tent up as a giant pub and we have some great entertainers coming in and all sorts of activities inside the pub,” said Tower, adding that there would be Guinness on tap and British-oriented pub food.
Alan James, an Irish entertainer from Red Deer, will also be performing Friday night and will be “just what the doctor ordered for a pub night,” said Tower.
Saturday afternoon will have kids rodeo activities, such as mini chuckwagons and pony stick racing that runs from noon until 5 p.m.
That evening, SummerFest partners with the Cochrane Classic Bullriding event that begins at 7 p.m., and then there will be a country-dance to follow with the band Scarecrow from Langdon, Alta.
Tower said one of the most important aspects of the event for CAES is keeping it affordable – $10 entry for Friday and $5 for Saturday. He said they realize not everyone has a lot of disposable income, so keeping the price low would allow everyone to enjoy SummerFest.
For more information on the event, or to purchase tickets, visit cochraneevents.ca.
