CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said during a Wednesday, May 27 press conference that a number of rodeos around the state will be cancelled this summer due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
That includes the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo which had been scheduled for July 3-11. The cancellation of the College National Finals Rodeo at the Casper Events Center was announced in April.
“Because so much rides on these decisions, we held off as long as we could,” Gordon said of the cancellation of six rodeos across Wyoming.
However, he said that the decision was made to cancel the rodeos since “the risk of failure could set these rodeos back for years to come.”
Gordon said that the decision to cancel the rodeos was not made by the state alone, but was a joint decision involving discussions with rodeo organizers and others around the state.
Other Wyoming summer rodeos which will be cancelled include:
- Cheyenne Frontier Days
- Cody Stampede
- Sheridan WYO Rodeo
- Laramie Jubilee Days
- Thermopolis Cowboy Rendevous PRCA Rodeo
Gordon’s office announced on Wednesday new public health orders set to go into effect June 1 which will allow outdoor gatherings of up to 250 people. However, attendance at large rodeos like CFD tends to exceed these limits.
A Dean Runyan Associates economic impacts study conducted for Visit Casper on the 2018 CNFR found $1.87 million in “direct economic impact” for the local economy. Visit Casper say that visitors spent $295 million in Natrona County in 2018.
Oil City reached out to Visit Casper on Wednesday to see if economic impact data for the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo was also available, but did not receive an immediate response.
Direct economic impacts from tourists spending money is not the only economic impact of the CNFR. The Dean Runyans study found that secondary economic impacts, which include things like travel industry employees spending money, was about $545,000, bringing the total economic impact of the 2018 CNFR to an estimated $2.415 million.
This appears to be the first time that the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo has been cancelled since it found a home in Casper in 1947. Rodeos, however, were held in Casper and Natrona County as early as 1904, according to the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo’s history webpage:
In 1904 the town of Casper, then just 15 years old, held its first fair on record. The state-wide celebration, known as the Industrial Convention was organized, and all surrounding counties were invited to contribute to the exhibitions.
Without a permanent fairgrounds, Casper’s earliest fairs and rodeos were held in many different places. It’s believed that there were rodeo events hosted in the Garden Creek and Mountain View areas, and in 1914 the first annual County Fair was held … well, somewhere! Sept. 23-25. Even the 3rd floor of the Natrona County High School was used to showcase fair exhibits. The first rodeo was produced by Leo Cramer of Big Timber, MT, and he later formed a partnership with Harry Knight, producing the rodeo in Casper for several years. After a time, Harry Knight was partnered with the legendary Gene Autry, and finally, took over producing rodeo without a partner.
In 1947, the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo finally found a home! Along with the excitement of the rodeo, the fair’s early years offered up shows with acts like Stan Volera on the Sway Pole, The Pribels, Outstanding Circus Clowns (1953) and “Henry’s Liberty Ponies” (1957). Entertainment ranged from cowboy crooners “The Sons of the Pioneers” (1953) to country boy Eddie Arnold (1966) to “The Rajun Cajun” Doug Kershaw in 1975. And every carnival pulled folks in with food, games and thrilling rides with names like Mad Mouse, Super Twister and Zipper! Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo
This article originally appeared on Oil City News. Used with permission.
The Wyoming Department of Health provides COVID-19 case, variant, death, testing, hospital and vaccine data online. The department also shares information about how the data can be interpreted. COVID-19 safety recommendations are available from the CDC.
