It’s the most exciting time of year for St. Paul and community, as the town gets set to bring in the 29th year of Lakeland Rodeo Association finals and all the activities leading up to the finals.
This week, whether it’s pancake breakfasts, the talent concert, beef on a bun or pulled pork, the rodeo mile, the parade or of course, the rodeo action, there really is something for everyone to enjoy. It’s small wonder the LRA Finals organizers have chosen to make St. Paul home for nearly three decades – the entire town has gotten behind the rodeo finals to make this a buzzing week of activity that people look forward to all year.
Somehow or another, in good times or in bad, St. Paul and Elk Point area events seem to go on, gathering strength from the contributions and efforts of businesses, non-profit organizations, and of course, volunteers of groups like the St. Paul Ag Society.
Whether it’s charity golf tournaments, village festivals, Haying in the 30’s, Oilmen’s Bonspiels, the past week’s Rock the Block, and now rodeo week, judging from the surface, one would hardly guess how badly the oil and gas sector has been hit in the last couple of years, and the knock-on effect to other small businesses. But the sentiment from those who’ve lived through Alberta’s boom and bust cycles has always been the same - “We’ve gotten through tough times before, and we’ll get through them again. And in the meantime, we’ll keep on trucking.”
That can-do, will-do attitude deserves to be saluted, and this week is a great time for residents to show their support by coming down to town, and spending their dollars on supporting small businesses and the fundraisers for local causes, and having a great rodeo week while doing it.
Let’s get at ‘er - yee-haw!
