SPRINGDALE : Rodeo fans take initial presence of beer in stride
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Rodeo of the Ozarks announcer Boyd Polhamus made a mistake Tuesday night when he told the crowd that “adult beverages” were available for purchase near the south gate.
On Wednesday night, he made it specific: “They’re selling beer !” For the first time in 64 years, rodeo patrons can drink something other than soft drinks, lemonade or bottled water. And Matt Castonguay, a first-time attendee from Bentonville, took advantage of the opportunity.
After showing a Springdale police officer identification to prove he was of age, Castonguay bought a Bud Light for $ 3, lit a cigarette and took in the scene.
“There’s nothing like a cold beer and the rodeo,” he said. “It makes the night. It means I’m where I want to be.” His friend Raenita Cooper also partook.
“The rodeo is something fun to do,” she said after taking a sip from her beer. “And now you can have a cocktail.” Most of the rodeo goers, however, purchased nonalcoholic refreshments, but a steady trickle at the beer booth showed that the latest menu item was appreciated.
Rodeo officials want to make sure the beer flows like a creek, not a river.
To gain access to the beer tent, a consumer must first show a valid ID proving he is at least 21. To purchase beer, a buyer must also redeem tickets before putting his hand around a Budweiser, Miller or Coors.
No qualifying patron may have more than three beers. No beer tickets are sold after bull riding, the last rodeo event of the evening. Remaining beer tickets must be redeemed no later than 15 minutes after the start of the nightly concert.
Beer sales appeared not to diminish the rodeo’s reputation as a family-friendly event. Parents and their children sat together in the grandstands, while knots of teens strolled the concourse.
When the bull riding was over, there was no rush to the beer tent to redeem tickets, and when country artist Sarah Johns took the stage, few in the crowd were drinking beer.
Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley, who didn’t protest the rodeo’s petition to the state for a beer permit, said the department will take a wait-and-see approach to alcohol sales at Parsons Stadium.
“If we need to make any revisions to our practices, I’m sure we will,” O’Kelley said. “We’ll evaluate [after the rodeo ].” Beer was sold at Parsons Stadium at two events earlier this year: a monster truck rally and a demolition derby. O’Kelley said beer sales didn’t cause problems at those events.
“But we’ll definitely keep an eye on it,” she said.
The rodeo didn’t ask for more police, nor did the department increase its normal patrol of 12 full-time and as many as seven part-time officers, she said.
The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved the rodeo’s beer permit application in April.
A petition signed by 44 people protesting beer sales at Parsons circulated through Springdale. The petitioners said the rodeo has been successful without beer and that public safety could be compromised by drunk drivers leaving the event. The petition, however, did not persuade the board.
Two other rodeos in the state — Old Fort Days in Fort Smith and the Arkansas State Fair Rodeo in Little Rock — serve beer.
Rodeo President John Gladden said the first two nights went smoothly.
“No one will come to the rodeo just for a beer,” Gladden said.
McBride Distributing of Fayetteville, a regional distributor of Budweiser, was one of the rodeo’s lead sponsors — as it has been for the past couple of decades.
Written across the bottom of the rodeo’s official program is the message, “McBride Distributing Co., Inc. Says... This Rodeo’s For You,” a take on the famous Budweiser ad slogan, “This Bud’s for You.”
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