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Rascal Rodeo and Cowlitz County Fair have another strong year

The Daily News - 8/4/2017

A lot of folks enjoy rodeos. But there are some people who, because of a disability, will never get to experience riding a horse or participate in other rodeo events. The Rascal Rodeo aims to change that.

Saturday morning at the Cowlitz County Fair's grandstand, over 45 different people of all ages with various disabilities got to embrace the rodeo lifestyle for an hour.

Participants could "milk" a fake cow, lasso a wooden steer and even ride a horse, some for the very first time.

Sue Rowin, a 70-year-old Longview resident who's wheelchair-bound, said her first horse-riding experience in around 20 years was a thrill.

"It was a little scary, but thank God I had some people around me," she said. "It was fun."

According to the rodeo board's event coordinator, Kim Cooper, the Rascal Rodeo was created by Ann-Erica Whitemarsh, who has produced the program at fairs and rodeos across the Northwest.

"We'd seen it done at other places, participated as volunteers, and said, 'We really need to bring this to Longview,' " Cooper said.

This is the fourth year the Rascal Rodeo ? run by a local force of volunteers ?has been part of the annual Longview event.

One volunteer, Ashley Dalgarno, came with her daughter to help out with the event for the first time. She said they plan on coming back.

"It's been wonderful," the Castle Rock resident said. "Lots of volunteers, the kids seemed really enthusiastic and the volunteers were really enthusiastic. I hope they do it again next year, because we will."

Each volunteer is assigned to a person or child with a disability, and acts as their guide throughout the event, Cooper said.

Rodeo board president Mike Monroe said this event means quite a bit to him and to the people with special needs in Cowlitz County.

"I went to this event four years ago in Pasco, and just the smiles you get on these contestants' faces is worth a million dollars," he said. "I left over there crying, and I'm going to cry when they leave today."

As for the rest of the fair, Cowlitz County Event Center Director Mike Moss said 2017 has been a smashing success. Although as of Saturday, they don't have a final count for attendance or revenue, he said attendance has been at least five to 10 percent higher than on average.

"It's been a great run this week," Moss said Saturday. "Friday felt like a Saturday. It was swamped here."

Moss added that rodeo attendance was also up for the first two days, and food vendors and parking attendants told him they noticed higher numbers of visitors as well.

Moss said he believes one reason for the fair's success this year is the weather.

"The weather's just been amazing for us," he said. "Cool mornings, 80 degrees and sunshine in the afternoon. That's great compared to next week's forecast: 104 degrees, which would destroy a fair. People are saying, 'If I'm going to do something, it better be today, because next week I'm staying inside.' "

Another factor in this year's attendance numbers is the fair's increased use of social media, according to Moss. He said the fair's theme, "Let's go crazy, we're turning 80," was decided online.

"We're using social media in a different way than we have in the past," he said. "We've always had website pages and Facebook pages for each of our departments here at the event center, but we really haven't utilized them like we are now. That's just how people communicate now."

Moss also said he thinks moving the handicapped parking from the grass lot across the street to a paved lot north of the event center was a smart move.

"For years and years and years, it's always been across the street. That's been a challenge: You have to park out in the grass and have to cross Seventh Avenue, where there's potholes and stuff. We've had great feedback about moving it to our north lot, so that's something we'll continue for years to come."

At the end of the day, Moss still believes the biggest boost for the park was the free admission, which began in 2005.

"If someone doesn't have the cash, or just wants to see the sights and sounds of the fair, they can. Some people just want to go to the barns, smell the food, watch the carnival rides, see the entertainment on the Bud Clary stage."

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