CHESAW – The 82nd Annual Chesaw Fourth of July Rodeo, canoe border crossing and the Oroville Community Fireworks Display are scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 4.
On rodeo day, the action starts with Family Games at 10 a.m. followed by the parade at 12:30 p.m. Rodeo action follows the parade and features both senior and junior events
The senior events include cow riding, calf roping regular and ranch saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, wild cow milking, open barrel races and women’s breakaway roping.
Junior events include cow riding, calf roping and scramble and junior barrel racing.
The books opened on June 25 and close at noon on June 2, by which time all entry fees must have been paid. Entries can be scheduled between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. by calling Darlene Nigg at 509-485-2793 or 509-560-0220.
Gary Nealy is this year’s Grand Marshal. For those wanting to enter the parade, call Sarah McKinney at 509-846-3074.
The rodeo is proceeded by a dance on Wednesday night from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Music for Wednesday’s dance is provided by Boone’s Tunes.
The 23rd anniversary of the Okanagan Indians crossing the border in canoes will also take place on Thursday, with arrival in Oroville from Osoyoos in the afternoon.
“This celebration is not a protest, but a way to remind the Syilx People the border does not separate us but unites us,” writes Arnie Marchand. “We are not Canadian or American people, but People of the Okanagan Country. Of a country that was from Revelstoke, B.C. to the north to Wenatchee, USA in the south, from the Colville Valley in the east to the Cascade Mountains in the west.”
The group will be camping on the shores of Osoyoos Lake on Nkameep Band Land and celebrating the event with song and food and preparing for the morning of July 4 to push to travel down the lake to Oroville’s Veterans Memorial Park.
“The event is celebrated on Canada Day and America’s Independence Day to emphasize our celebration of the Syilx People,” said Marchand.
The Oroville Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual Community Fireworks Display at Deep Bay Park. The fireworks, which are paid for by donations from individuals and businesses, usually start blasting their way skyward at dusk around 10 p.m. Entry to the park is free, but additional donations are welcome to put down a deposit for next year’s event.
