GET SADDLED UP FOR RODEO WEEK; SHRINE CLUB RODEO COMES TO ARENA MAY 3-5

To gear up for the first-ever Cape Shrine Club Professional Rodeo, the organization has planned to hold a "Rodeo Week" complete with a parade through Cape Girardeau.

The rodeo is scheduled for May 3-5, but the weeklong celebration will begin Sunday. A parade has been set for May 4 at 2 p.m. beginning at Capaha Park, said Marvin Meier, chairman of the Cape Shriners rodeo committee.

Sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), the Shrine Club rodeo will be held at Arena Park. Seven events are scheduled, including bull riding, saddle bronc-riding, bareback riding, team roping, calf roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing.

Rick Wolfe of Jackson plans to compete in the team roping event at the rodeo, which is the first PRCA-sanctioned rodeo ever to take place in Cape Girardeau.

The PRCA sanctions more than 750 rodeos annually in 42 states and 10 Canadian provinces.

Wolfe has competed for three years in the PRCA.

"It's really going to be exciting for the contestants, the Shrine club and for the city of Cape," Wolfe said. "There will be people from all over the country traveling to Cape. It will mean a big economic boost. We'll probably seat 10,000 people over the three nights of the rodeo."

Wolfe is helping the Shriners organize the event. He said people who follow PRCA rodeos are "good, wholesome people."

"We're not talking about drugs or alcohol here; these are good people," he said.

The stock contractor for the Shriners' rodeo is John Walter of Mississippi. Wolfe said Walter is one of the best contractors in the country and has put on rodeos at Madison Square Garden in New York. Several years ago the company took part in a performance for then-president Ronald Reagan, he said.

Meier said some of the best cowboys in the country will compete in the outdoor rodeo. Wolfe estimated that about 300 cowboys will compete.

"Everything runs smoothly at PRCA rodeos," he said. "There are professional athletes there and the prize money, as a whole, is large."

During Rodeo Week the Shriners want employees of local businesses to sport western wear, Meier said. Area businesses are sponsoring the rodeo events, Meier said.

The parade will include Shriner clowns but also drum-and-bugle corps and miniature cars, he said.

Advanced tickets for the rodeo are $7 for adults and $4 for children under 12. Box seats will be available only in advance and are $10 per person.

They are available at Schnucks, JCPenney, both Food Giant stores, Del Farm and Bob's Shoe Service, all in Cape Girardeau; Sander Hardware and Town and Country Foods, both in Jackson, and Baker Bestway in Scott City.

The Shriners also have a trailer set up in the Sav-A-Lot parking lot in Cape Girardeau, where tickets can be purchased. Phone orders can be placed at 651-3118.

Door tickets will be $8 for adults and $5 for children under 12.