Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:40 a.m. July 10 with news that the Frolic Fish Rodeo scheduled for Saturday has been canceled. See the story for details.
Each year over three evenings in July, the Philomath community and visitors from around the region enjoy the raw excitement of cowboys and cowgirls competing for prizes in traditional rodeo events.
This year’s Philomath Frolic and Rodeo performances are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the rodeo grounds in Skirvin Park. Behind the scenes, volunteers with the organization have been working hard to get the venue ready for action.
“Getting the ground worked up is kind of the big concern because the cowboys and the riders like to have the ground just right so their horses and athletes can do well,” Frolic and Rodeo spokesperson Chris Workman said last week. “It’s like getting ready for a football game — we’re out there prepping the field ahead of time and getting everything just right so it doesn’t interfere with the performance.
“That’s what’s going on now — oiling all the gates and making sure the chutes open and just making sure that everything’s going to run smoothly,” he added.
The Northwest Professional Rodeo Association last year recognized the Frolic as the “Best Independent Rodeo” in its division.
Longtime rodeo announcer Scott Allen returns to call all three nights of action. B Bar D handles the rodeo’s stock. Clint “Wolfey” Selvester will entertain and distract bulls as the rodeo clown. Jason Buchanan will handle music and sound.
“Our volunteers in the back are amazing … most of them come back year after year,” Workman said. “They know what they’re doing; they’re a well-oiled machine back there with a lot of moving parts.”
The NPRA-sanctioned performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will each start at 7 p.m. Events include bareback riding, barrel racing, breakaway roping, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping and tie-down roping.
Donkey races will be back in the arena during an evening intermission to entertain the crowd. On the third night, the 2025 Philomath Frolic and Rodeo queen and princess will be announced with those candidates going through tryouts during the week. This year’s queen, Katie Ann Kilcullen, will have high visibility with appearances on each rodeo night and as an entry in the parade.
All rodeo tickets are sold online. Standard tickets are required for ages 14 and older, junior tickets can be purchased for ages 3-13 and children 2 and under are free when sitting on a lap. For those not buying tickets in advance, the ticket kiosk will be operating to assist folks with their purchase. General parking is $5 per day at the gate.
“We strongly encourage people to buy their tickets ahead of time,” Workman said. “You can buy a general admission ticket, which is first-come, first-serve in a couple of sections, or you can get assigned reserved seating so you don’t have to show up until right before the rodeo starts and your seat’s going to be there.”
The Frolic and Rodeo’s annual fireworks show will light up Philomath skies following the Friday night performance with the start time estimated to be at around 9:30 p.m.
There will also be a slack rodeo on Friday beginning at 11 a.m. The slack rodeo features only roping and barrel racing events. Tickets are $5 for adults ages 18 and older and free for children.
Slicker will provide live music during the Friday and Saturday night dances in the Yew Wood Corral. On Thursday night, DJ Jay will play a mix of greatest hits and there will also reportedly be karaoke. Admission to the dance is free with a paid rodeo ticket. For those interested in only attending the dance, tickets are $15 and available at the ticket office on the day of the event.
Chainsaw carving to make debut
A new addition to this year’s Frolic will be the Oregon Open Chainsaw Carving Competition, a three-day event that runs Thursday through Saturday. Each carver begins with an eight-foot section of a large cedar log and has 19 hours to work on their creations.
“I have been wanting to bring chainsaw carving to the Frolic for the last three or four years,” Workman said. “I attended the one down in Reedsport and I’ve been reading up and researching quite a bit on it and put a proposal together and took it to the board.”
The Frolic board agreed to give the new event a try and so he brought in organizer George Kenny, who competes himself and runs a chainsaw carving school in Washington.
“We’ve got 15 well-known, well-respected chainsaw carvers — these guys come from Oregon, Washington, California, all over the place,” Workman said.
After the 19 hours are up late Saturday morning, the carvings will be judged with trophies and prize money at stake.
“It’s a full on competition; they’re not coming to just goof around and hang out,” Workman said. “They’re coming to win … I think the community will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of the carvings that we get out of this event.”
Mixed in with the main carve, the event will also feature quick carve competitions at 11:30 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 11:15 a.m. Saturday. Wrapping up the Oregon Open will be a live auction and awards ceremony from 12:30-2 p.m. Saturday.
Grand parade set for Saturday
The Philomath Frolic and Rodeo’s Grand Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and will follow a route down Applegate Street from Philomath High School to South 15th to Cedar Street and to South 13th and into the rodeo grounds.
The Frolic and Rodeo board this year chose to honor retired Philomath Police Chief Ken Rueben, who will be accompanied in the parade by Percy, the police department’s retired comfort dog.
“There’s a lot of great people in the community that have done a lot but Ken’s 10-plus years at the city of Philomath … and all that he did with his involvement with the schools and getting the Philomath Police Foundation set up and bringing the Public Safety Chili Cookoff to Philomath and working through accreditation and all of his work there, hosting the Samaritan Awards … he was just so involved in the community. We felt like it was a nice nod and a good way to appreciate him and have him run through the parade.”
The Frolic and Rodeo’s theme for this year’s celebration is “Wild, Wild, West.”
Parade check-ins and same-day registration begins at 7 a.m. at the Philomath Middle School entrance. All registration is online either in advance or at the registration table on the morning of the parade.
A rundown of the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo’s various other events:
- Home Run Derby — The Home Run Derby is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the baseball fields at the rodeo grounds. Organizers are offering three brackets — men’s, women’s and teens. In addition, for children 12 and under, there will be a farthest-hit contest.
- Cornhole Tournaments — Another popular event returning to the Frolic will be the cornhole tournaments. The Thursday evening tournament (5 p.m. start) will be for youth under age 18, the Friday event (5 p.m.) will be an adult tournament geared toward experienced and semi-pro competitors and on Saturday, an open tournament (2 p.m.) for anyone of any age to enter will be staged.
- Sidewalk Chalk Roundup — The sidewalk-coloring contest for all ages is scheduled to run from 9-11 a.m. Friday at Philomath Community Library. Participation is free and no registration is required. Age category winners will receive gift cards to local restaurants.
- Marys Peak Search and Rescue Chicken BBQ — Marys Peak Search and Rescue will be back with its popular barbecued half-chicken meals. The group will be serving on both Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. until the food is gone. No advance tickets are needed with payment on site.
- Lions Club Rodeo Breakfast — The Philomath Lions Club Annual Rodeo Breakfast will run for three hours from 7-10 a.m., in the rodeo grounds shelter area. No advance tickets are needed with payment on site
- Frolic 5K Family Fun Run/Walk — The 5-kilometer run returns but with a different route and start time. The event begins at 9:45 a.m. at the start of the parade route at Philomath High School and ends behind the rodeo grandstands. The registration fee is $10 for adults and teens, free for ages 12 and under and $50 for teams. In addition to the 5K course, there will be a 1K family-friendly course.
- Lumberjack Competition — Professional and novice lumberjack competitors will square off beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at the rodeo grounds. Pro events include springboard, hot saw, stock saw, single buck, underhand chop and standing block chop. Novice events are single buck, stock saw and underhand chop. Bleachers will be set up for spectators but those attending can also bring their own camping chairs to sit in. Admission is free.
- Food Booths and Craft Vendors — The Frolic will have approximately 40 vendors participating this year with about a fourth of those serving food. There will also be craft vendors, informational booths, etc.
- Heather’s Kids Korner — Heather’s Kids Corner will provide youth with opportunities from 5-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 3-7 p.m. Saturday.
- Frolic Fish Rodeo — This year’s Frolic Fish Rodeo had to be canceled with the inability to secure a supplier for fish. Workman said that even though the fish rodeo can’t be offered this year, he already has an order set up for next year. “This is just a one-year break.”
