The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo will return the first weekend in June, bringing back many favorite features along with adding some new ones.
Planning for the 79th four-day rodeo — corralled for 2020 and delayed to September last year because of COVID-19 — has moved into high gear as public health restrictions have eased.
This year’s rodeo will be June 2-5 at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center, with the parade on June 4.
“There’s nothing like kicking off the summer with the rodeo. That is tradition in Santa Maria, and we are excited to get it back to where it should be,” Elks Exalted Ruler Wes Brown said.
In addition to listing various facets of the 2022 rodeo, Friday’s event included a debut for the three candidates seeking the Elks Rodeo queen crown.
The 2022 contestants and their sponsors — Kiwanis Club of Guadalupe, St. Joseph High School and Northern Santa Barbara County United Way — will again have twice as long to raise funds.
“The soft kickoff we’re doing is to give the organizations a little more time because of the difficult waters they have to deal with right now to get through these times,” Brown said. “Last year, we went a little bit longer and it worked out quite well.”
A 12-week campaign will include assorted fundraisers such as golf tournaments, raffles, dinners and more.
“Organizations and families, this is a huge commitment. Your girls are gong to be leaving their footprint in this community,” said Tina Tonascia, the rodeo’s chief operations officer.
“It’s a lot of hard work for the families, the girls, the organizations,” Tonascia said, adding that they are providing a valuable addition to the community.
The trio will seek to follow 2021 Rodeo Queen Avery Nelson, with the crown going to the top fundraiser during the June 3 performance.
Contestants introduced Friday were Rylie Halsell for St. Joseph High School, Ashley Palin for Northern Santa Barbara County United Way and Primavera Rosales for Guadalupe Kiwanis Club.
Nelson raised $550,000 and with three other groups raised more than $1 million — “obviously a record,” said Elks Rec President Peter Sterling, before quoting rodeo announcer Tallman. “He said that he doesn’t know of any other rodeo in the United States that has raised that much money for their nonprofit organizations.”
In addition to scholarships, funds raised go toward youth recreation and other programs in the community.
Despite Friday’s debut, Elks Rec still plans to hold its official Queen Kickoff and Auction Dinner at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge on April 16.
Friday’s event also included a sneak peek at the 2022 rodeo, with many the crown favorites such as award-winning announcer Bob Tallmen returning.
“We have some amazing things coming up for rodeo. I think it’s going to be our best year ever. We are real excited. Our team is ready,” Tonascia said.
WranglerNetwork.com will return to feature highlights of Santa Maria’s rodeo action.
“We are one of their top viewed rodeos on their network,” Tonascia said.
Santa Maria also has been asked to host the California Circuit Finals Rodeo semi-annual conference, bringing in representatives of other rodeos from around the state to Santa Maria.
“This is a big honor for us to be able to host that seminar,” Tonascia said, adding that it also will bring more visitors to the community.
Additionally, Santa Maria has been asked to host the Miss Rodeo California Clinic for women who will compete in the state crown.
Not happening for 2022, but expected to return for future rodeos, is the Beard-A-Reno annual whisker-growing contest and the Minetti Mini Rodeo for schoolchildren, Tonascia said.
For more information and tickets, go to the rodeo website by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.