A few minutes after the final bull rider of the evening had his turn out of the chute, announcer Scott Allen’s voice continued to echo through the night air with details about how a tradition had been established to end the rodeo by racing broncs through the arena.
Hundreds of people began to file out of the grandstands with some making a beeline for the Yew Wood Corral and others headed for their vehicles to make the drive home.
Gallery: Philomath Frolic and Rodeo (Saturday, July 8, 2023)
A collection of 32 photos from the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo Saturday, July 8.
Gallery: Philomath Frolic and Rodeo (Friday, July 7, 2023)
A collection of photos from the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo on Friday, July 7, 2023.
In the darkness not far from the front entrance, Philomath Frolic and Rodeo board president Darrell Hinchberger watched the exodus while sitting quietly in a golf cart. He already had his mind on the future and work that needs to get done over the next several months.
“We’re going to focus on the capital funding campaign and with the $1.9 million that the state allocated to us will start that and that gives us the punch that it takes to get going,” Hinchberger said.
Hinchberger as a past vice president and current president on the board of directors has seen the nonprofit organization survive a variety of challenges from uncertainty in 2017 surrounding its future at the rodeo grounds to a pandemic-induced cancellation in 2020 to a fire that took out a section of the grandstands in 2022.
But now, the Frolic’s organizers speak with fervor about what lies on the horizon.
“We’re really excited about it,” Hinchberger said about the Frolic and Rodeo board’s view on the prospect of building a new arena. “We’ve had this dream for the last 10 years.”
A design engineer’s vision through artist renderings sparked his excitement.
“Once I saw that rendering, it just made the difference and gives you the inspiration that we can do this,” he said. “We start our work today and on the first day after next year’s rodeo, we’ll start tearing it apart.”
Chris Workman, a board member who formerly served as the president and now contributes as the publicity chair and events organizer, emphasizes the next steps for the Frolic and Rodeo and shares in the enthusiasm.
“We’ve got from now until the end of the year to finish raising the money we need to get the project ready to go out for bid and be ready to start construction after next year’s rodeo,” Workman said. “That is 100% of the focus right now.”
Exceptional rodeo attendance
From all indications, the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo continues to be a main summer attraction in this region of the state. Rodeo attendance numbers were exceptional with sellouts Friday and Saturday nights and hundreds of standing-room-only tickets were sold.
Workman said reserved seating for the last two nights of the rodeo had sold out by early Friday. That includes regular arena seating along with what was available in the temporary grandstands that had been brought in.
“From yesterday (Friday) morning till now we’ve just been selling overflow tickets and we had a line all the way from here (ticket office) into the parking lot,” Workman said.
The final attendance figures were not immediately available but the standing-room-only tickets sold numbered in the hundreds. During the Saturday night rodeo, a significant number of people could be seen in the vendor area and going in and out of the Yew Wood Corral.
Individuals could purchase a $15 pass that got them into the beer garden area, where two big-screen TVs were set up for those who wanted to keep an eye on the rodeo action. Others were there to enjoy adult beverages and socialize.
“They’re just enjoying being here,” Hinchberger said “The rodeo is important but they’re not fighting to get in so once the tickets were sold, they’re happy to go to the Yew Wood Corral, sit and have a beer and watch it on the big screens. It’s just the gathering … everybody likes to just be together.”
Slicker, who has been a frequent visitor to the Frolic in recent years, played both Friday and Saturday after the rodeo.
“If people are planning to come to the dance, it’s a no-brainer to come early, watch some of the show (rodeo performance), get something to eat and be in the environment,” Workman said.
As far as the reserved seating, it was the first year that the Frolic and Rodeo brought in a second temporary grandstand — the other situated in the area that had burned in late June 2022.
“It helped make up the difference for what we were missing down at Section C that had burned,” Workman said. “The temporary grandstands get us maybe halfway there, so that was an effort to try to recover.”
The lightest rodeo attendance each year occurs with the Thursday performances with vacant seats in the arena. Still, Workman said the numbers were good and maybe up a little bit from last year.
“I think it was comfortable where people had plenty of room and could spread out a little,” he said.
The temperatures were a little lower than usual for the rodeos with jackets and sweatshirts pretty much a necessity as the sun begins to go down.
“It’s been a little chilly in the evenings but that’s good for the animals, good for the athletes,” Hinchberger said. “We live in Oregon so the smart ones bring coats and are ready for Oregon weather.”
Warm or chilly, everybody appeared to be having a good time. The crowd partied until midnight, the vendors packed up, the band tore down, the volunteers collapsed at home and the competitors and others who work the event started to think about the drive.
Close this chapter on the 70th year of Philomath’s community celebration.