The Pike County Cattlemen’s PCA Rodeo is coming to Cattleman Park Friday and Saturday nights with a special Western Festival just for kids planned for Saturday afternoon.

B.B. Palmer, Cattleman Park executive director, said the Cattlemen introduced the Western Festival at last year’s rodeo, and it was such a success that it will be an annual event.

“We had a large crowd of kids and they had a great time,” Palmer said. “The Cattlemen decided that anything that brought that much fun and enjoyment to the kids and their parents ought to be a part of the Pike County Cattlemen’s PCA Rodeo.”

The Cattlemen are offering free tickets to Saturday’s Western Festival and the PCA Rodeo to all kids in the local schools, ages 7-12. Kids under six years of age are admitted free.

“We’ll have the free tickets available at the schools by mid-week,” Palmer said. “We want every kid who wants to go the rodeo to be able to go. Of course, the kids must be accompanied by an adult.”

Gates will open at 4 p.m. Saturday and the Western Festival will begin at 5 p.m.

“We’ve got a lot of fun things for the kids to participate in like stick-horse races and roping, Palmers said. “We’ll have a steer head for them to rope just like the rodeo cowboys do.

“We encourage the kids to dress up in their western attire and participate in the Buck-a-Roo contest. They don’t have to do anything except be dressed up, and we’ll have judges going around. Kids like to dress up, and we like to see a lot of little cowboys and cowgirls running around.”

Don Renfroe will give free wagon rides, and there will be ticketed pony rides.

The rodeo will get off to a fast start at 7:30 p.m. and will feature two kids’ events at intermission.

“We’ve got mutton bustin’, and that’s were kids ride a sheep, sort of bull ridin’ for kids,” Palmer said. “We’ll also have the calf scramble where we tie ribbons on the calves’ tails and kids try to pull them off. And, no telling what else. We might even have a dance contest for the kids.”

Concessions will be available inside the Cattleman building and will include all-beef hamburgers, all-beef hotdogs, French fries, nachos and other snack items. Vendors with Western items for sale will have booths inside the facility.

“So, parents bring the kids out Saturday for the Western Festival and then stay around and make a night off it,” Palmer said. “Get some supper and stay to enjoy the Pike County Cattlemen’s PCA Rodeo.”

Gates will open at 5 p.m. on Friday with the rodeo getting underway at 7:30.

Tickets at the gate will be $12 for adults. Children six and under will be admitted free.

Advanced tickets are $10 and are available at Troy Bank and Trust main branch, Don Walker’s Western Wear, Piggly Wiggly stores in Troy and Brundidge and the Banks Buy Rite.