Rodeo has been a part of my life as long as radio has. When my radio career first began, I was still a student at Baylor University. Baylor is in the central Texas town of Waco. Geographically, comedian Steve Martin (a Waco native) put it best. For decades, the Waco skyline consisted of just one building, the ALICO (American Life Insurance Company) building. Sort of a single “finger” if you will. The town sits roughly 90 miles north of Austin and 90 miles south of Dallas. Martin once remarked that Waco is Texas’ way of flipping you off on Interstate 35 between the two cities. Anyway, I digress.
Surrounding Waco on all sides were little towns like Clifton, Mart, Marlin, West, Hillsboro, Crawford, etc. And whereas in the Carolinas (and the southeast in general) we look forward to the annual “county fair.” In central Texas, all those little towns had their own rodeo. If I attended one rodeo as a radio disk jockey, I attended 100. So, seeing that the 5th Mint Hill Rodeo is coming next week makes me smile. It’s like seeing the Waco City Limits sign in Coyote Joe’s, it’s always fun when I feel like “my past is present.”
According to charlotteonthecheap.com, this annual event is a project of the Mint Hill Historical Society and will be at McWhirter Rodeo Arena, 8201 Bartlett Road, Mint Hill, on next Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22, 2023.
If you’ve never been to a rodeo in person (especially a youth/teen rodeo), you’ve got to go. Now here’s the deal on tickets. They ARE NOT sold in advance. The Mint Hill Rodeo is a cash only deal, and you pay for admission at the gate. There is a limit, so get there early as the event tends to sell out. Adult admission is $10. Kids 12-under get in for $5. And here’s the lineup for The Mint Hill Rodeo.
Friday:
6 p.m.: Gates Open
8 p.m.: Main Event
Saturday:
9 a.m.: Gates Open
10 a.m.: PeeWees
1 p.m.: Juniors
3 to 5 p.m.: Rodeo Slack
8 p.m.: Main Event
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