Giddy-up! Catch the Arizona Gay Rodeo This Weekend
The new tradition of the gay rodeo continues this weekend with the 37th annual Arizona Gay Rodeo this weekend. The event takes place from February 17 through 19 at Corona Ranch in Laveen, AZ, reports the Phoenix New Times.
To learn more about gay rodeos, follow this link.
"There'll be 13 events such as bull riding, steer riding, calf roping, pole bending, team roping, and others that rodeo fans will recognize," writes the Phoenix New Times. "But this rodeo also features three 'camp' events: Goat dressing, steer decorating, and wild drag race."
"It's a big party, it's a big festival," says Mark Boyd, public relations director for the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association (AGRA). He describes it as "kind of akin to Pride and Rainbow Festival and all that; it just happens to be a real live rodeo at the same time."
Boyd explained that each of the categories uses a two-person team. He further described the "camp" events. In goat dressing, he continued, the team has a certain timeframe to run, get their goat, and put a pair of underpants on it. "It's literally people putting underwear on goats."
Steer decorating involves putting a ribbon on a steer's tail, and in the wild drag race, the team — which is dressed in drag — has to get on the steer and ride it to the finish line.
"All the other events are standard events like you'd see at any other professional rodeo," Boyd told the Phoenix New Times, and include competitors who are gay and transgender. "Everyone's welcome to compete, and everybody's welcome to attend."
All activities are family-friendly; Boyd says nothing is above a PG rating. The rodeo events are in the arena, and county fair-style Games on the Green will take place on the grass outside the pavilion from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
There will also be entertainment. On Friday night there is a concert by Banda La Finikera at 9 p.m.; gates open at 8 p.m.
But Boyd notes that "Saturday is the biggest day for entertainment." Amongst those performing and appearing are the Phoenix Gay Men's Chorus, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix Gay Pride, Tucson Takeover, Nine Lions Dragon Dance, Indigenous Enterprise, Banda La Llegadora, celebrity impersonators, and more starting at 11 a.m.
Sunday includes Barbra Seville's Phoenix Phollies, Dan Dan the Puppet Man, Madame Fellatia Monroe, and special guests, along with many others, culminating in an awards ceremony and party. Both days will feature royalty from AGRA and the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA).
Volunteer run, the Arizona Gay Rodeo raises money for LGBTQ charities in the community — everything from the Phoenix Gay Men's Chorus to sports mentoring for LGBTQ athletes. Usually, it raises about $20,000, but last year, it raked in $70,000, which was distributed to nine organizations, reported the Phoenix New Times.