DAYTON–Two performances of buckin', snortin' hide and hair will raise the excitement level at the 2023 Dayton Days-Columbia County Fair Rodeo, this Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27.
The first session kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday and will feature bareback and saddle bronc riding, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, ranch bronc riding, steer wrestling and riding, team roping, barrel racing, chute dogging and bull riding. Two drill teams–the Walla Walla Wagonettes Drill Team and the Cowboy Church Drill Team–will show their stuff as well. Don't miss each show's opening ceremonies.
Saturday's action will get under way at 1 p.m. at the Columbia County Fairgrounds, 101 Fairgrounds Lane. Rough-stock contractors Bar X Rodeo, LLC and Shamrock Rodeo will be providing the broncs, bulls and calves for all the rodeo action. Tucker Cool of Bar X Rodeo will announce the event.
If you can't locate the fairgrounds, just start sniffin' and follow your nose to food vendors, craft vendors and a beer garden. The Dayton Kiwanis Club, Dayton Lions Club, ML Express, Genie's Asian Cuisine, Beth Jeffreys, R & R Barbecue and Broken Spoke Soda Wagon will be on hand with food booths open. Several vendors of a Western flair will be on hand: E2 Leatherwork-Jessie Eastman, Joy Barber Crafts, Morrison Custom Fit Saddles-Jim Morrison and Thirty One Gifts-Deb Jahn.
The gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday, right after the Dayton Days Parade, brought to you by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. After seeing the parade on Main Street, head over to the Columbia County Fairgrounds for a bite to eat from a half dozen vendors and get a good seat in the covered grandstands for the afternoon rodeo.
Dayton Days, Inc. and the Columbia County Fair Association team up put on the two-day rodeo. Admission is $20 adults; $15 seniors and ages 17-8, and children seven and under are free of charge. Tickets will be available at the gate or visit daytondays.net and scan the QR code, or visit EventBrite.com and search for Dayton Days.
It wouldn't be Dayton Days without Saturday's Dayton Days Parade, courtesy of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. The parade starts down Main Street at 10 a.m. May 27. "We're looking forward to another fun-filled Dayton Days parade," said Belinda Larsen, Executive Director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. "Leading the parade will be children riding their bicycles they decorated with the help of our library, and wrapping up the parade will be some of those vintage cars you can enjoy during All Wheels Weekend. We are accepting entries until noon on Friday, May 26, so it's not too late to join the fun." Call the Chamber at 382-4825 to get in the parade.
The parade comes down the hill on Main Street and through the downtown blocks then turns right on 1st Street.
Dayton Days is sponsored by Gold Buckle Sponsors PFI Mart and Columbia County Health Systems; Silver Buckle Sponsors Dayton Mercantile and Dayton Chronicle; Bucking Chute Sponsors CDJR of Walla Walla, Banner Bank, Wildhorse Casino and Resort, Van Ausdle Tires, Avren Childers State Farm Insurance, Papé Machinery, Don Johnson Trailer Sales with Trailers West Sales; Arena Sponsors Odom East LLC, Jim Neace-Neace Farms, Inland Cellular, Jones Truck & Implement and Broughton Land Company; and Event Sponsors: Team Roping-Broughton Land Company; Buckle Sponsors Walla Walla Electric and Elk Drug.