Because 'Murica …read more.. Fourth of July weekend brings the Northwest Pro Rodeo Association to Vancouver Washington at the Clark County Saddle Club ... and 4 days of celebrating cowboys & cowgirls, stars & stripes, and shout outs for the greatest country on God's green earth. America ... F Yeah! Rodeos ... F Yeah! Comin' again to save the motherf-in' day, Yeah! The 45th annual Vancouver Rodeo had over $50,000 prize money with over 5,000 people in attendance. It may be small and it is totally local, but it makes up for it because 'Murica. Parking was $5. Four tickets were $54 for pretty decent Reserved Seating walking up just a few minutes before the parade of Rodeo Girls, Sponsor Flags, and Rodeo Queens. Get there on time because the pageantry of the Grand Entry and flag presentation just may be the most entertaining and patriotic camera moment of all. Events at the Vancouver Rodeo include * Mutton Bustin' - Kids ridin' sheep ... fun! * Steer Wrestling - Bulldoggin' a steer to the ground * Bull Riding - Dangerous, but only 3 unsuccessful attempts * Team Roping - Catch 'n release ... yay. * Barrel Racing - Fast 3-barrel cowgirl racin' * Tie Down Roping - Man & horse teamwork * Bareback Bronc - 8 seconds please ... none successful * Saddle Bronc - Classic rodeo with random scoring The biggest disappointment with the Vancouver Rodeo was the small size. The arena and bleacher seats were fine; however, there just weren't enough riders. The popular bull riding, bareback bronc, and saddle bronc events all had less than a handful of riders. The crowd had high anticipation, but really only celebrated the mutton busters with one young cowboy who lasted longer than any other pro rider of the night. Still ... the Vancouver Rodeo was a fun 'n dusty night to celebrate the cowboy lifestyle, Independence Day, and the red, white, and blue. I'm a fan of the small local Vancouver Rodeo. Why? Because 'Murica ...

I was here as an attendee for one of the horse shows and was impressed with the upkeep of the…read moregrounds, minus the expected dust from the arena. They offer a lot of food options at the indoor vendor for reasonable prices. In the winter months it can get pretty cold inside but they have heaters on the bleachers that help. Parking is easy to navigate!

The amount & variety of food vendors was great! The shaded eating areas were perfect for the amount…read moreof people. The large utility fans for the shaded livestock auction arena was a perfect idea. Unlike the Washington County fair, we could pet the animals thru their pens. I attend the local fairs just to see & touch livestock. The friendliness of these 4H kids was amazing. Almost 90° and in their navy blue jackets & jeans looking top notch... made it easy to identify them. I will definitely return to this fair every year.

Good entertainment for the 4th of July weekend. The rodeo is one you cannot compare to ones, say in…read moreWyoming. Kudos to the riders and animals, however, for getting out there and giving it their all. Food tents were decent and atmosphere good.

The rude security people are out of control. Making women, even older ladies lift up their shirts…read moreto check for ?, what? Embarrassing too. And their attitudes were sooo bad. If you went out to your car to get a sweater or charge your phone they wouldn't allow re-entry. Fireworks were short and it was hard to see from one side of the grandstand, unless you tried to crane your neck backwards. Kids enjoyed the carnival.

I must be a bit of a curmudgeon at heart, because sometimes I just don't like change. This past…read moreyear the Frolic decided to make all seating reserved and do away with the Sunday matinee for the rodeo. I really liked the open seating and coming on Sunday. I felt like they were both family friendly, where I could bring my kids and have them sit wherever they liked - in the open for a bit, under the cover for a bit. I liked the Sunday afternoon show so that I didn't have to fight through a crowd of drunk, rowdy cowboy fans with my little kids in tow, nor did I have to keep my kids up super late. Alas, I must have been in the minority, because they made changes to the format and will keep them indefinitely. We'll try to come if we can figure out a babysitter or if we are willing to deal with strung out, over-tired kids. But if not, we'll just have to skip it. Bah!

After attending the last 50yr + Philomath Frolic & Rodeos this will be our last!!! The last couple…read moreyears have been less than fun, and I'm not going to continue wasting my money on the yearly "Frolic"! The admission prices have gone up to high for whole "family" entertainment! They dropped the Sunday afternoon Matinee Rodeo Finals and by doing so have cut out the whole reason we usually attend. The Carnival is no longer outside the gates making it inaccessible to the kids and families that don't or can't afford to pay the OVER PRICED admission cost to get inside. They also moved the all of the concession and other booths inside the gates making it impossible to shop or eat without paying for the rodeo/dance. You can no longer pay for just the Rodeo or just the Dance it is a MANDATORY combination price and frankly not having the option is unacceptable!! There is no longer the FREE "slack time" Thursday night rodeo when they set event times instead now they charge the same rates as the rest of the weekends General admission. Costs range from $12-$18 for general admission and instead of "first come first served" seating there are very limited "General" seats and far more OVER PRICED "Reserved & Premium" seats. (The same UN-IMPROVED benches as usual!) Oh, watch out for the Bees nest at the base of the center stands!! I am DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED in all of the poor choices & changes that now make up the "Philomath Frolic & Rodeo" and as I started out this review THIS WILL BE OUR LAST!! Even the Saturday "Grand Parade" has gone to crap!!! Last year's parade was mostly just loud & noisy log trucks and misc. machinery. Many local Sponsors for past Frolic/Rodeos have dropped out and the whole "Family Fun" dynamics is sadly a thing of the past!! The price for "parking" is a whopping $5 a vehicle and frankly a waste considering there is no longer anything outside of the "Gates" to entice folks to attend in the first place! There is a whole new "Generation" of kids/families that will no longer be interested in having their first "Rodeo" experience cost more than the average family "budget" allows! It pains me to give our small town yearly/decades old EVENT such a poor rating but sadly this is apparently what it has become! ** I also found this website difficult to use for those of us "technology challenged" attempting to purchase tickets!

The Grand Floral Parade may not be grand, but it is a wholesome tradition that's been a key part of…read morethe Portland Rose Festival since 1907. We enjoyed the march of high school bands, sponsor floats, community organizations, and horse riders for a couple hours. The crowd was never too large so there were lots of spots along the sidewalks on Burnside to see each group pass by. The parade starts at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum before heading across the Burnside Bridge, turning at 4th Avenue, and heading down to Lincoln High School. We str Naming rights for the parade mean it is now called the Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade and they get to start the show as the first float after a mass of flag-waving local Boy, Cub, and Girl Scouts. More interesting groups followed including floats from Portland's sister cities, diverse minority group participation, a few small equestrian teams, a chill pack of llamas, drill teams and marching bands, the royal court and festival queen, and a U.S. Air Force Honor Guard. The entire route of the parade is 4 miles so locals and tourist should have no problem finding a place to enjoy all or part of the parade. It starts at 10:00 at the Coliseum, but we didn't hit our area until around 11:00. We found parking for a crazy high $16 about a block away, but it was worth it, I suppose. This parade may not rival some of the bigger and more elaborate ones around the country, but for Portland, the Grand Floral Parade, is as big as it gets. It's a source of pride and participation for the entire Portland-Vancouver metro area for good reasons. I'm a fan.

1 hour parade that was stretched out to 2. Way too much space between participants spent most of…read morethe time waiting for the next float. floats are nothing like advertised maybe 2-3 actual floats. Not worth the time and effort.