By Stan Rauch
Manager, Prairie Village
We have a big weekend coming up at the village with the Northern Bull Riding Tour event on Friday and the Miss Prairie Village/Miss Prairie Princess Pageant on Sunday.
Now in its seveth year at Prairie Village, the bull ride on Friday starts off with a calcutta at 6:30 and then the bull riding at 7:00. Tickets at the gate are $12 for adults and $5 for ages 6 to 12. You can ride the mechanical bull; the Madison Fire Department will be there with its beer tent; and food will be available too. Plus Hills Western Outfitters from Brookings will be with us for the first time as a vendor for the event.
A major enhancement to the bull ride this year is the increased seating capacity. This past weekend the bull ride arena was set up on the tractor pull track directly in front of the big bleachers on the west side. Those combined with our other portable bleachers being placed on the north and south sides of the arena will provide seating for over a thousand spectators.
Directly supported by the Chamber of Commerce’s Ag Committee, the Northern Bull Riding Tour is a popular community involvement event. Come on out Friday evening for lots of bull riding excitement and family fun.
Then on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. is the pageant in the Opera House. There will be six teen girls vying for the Miss Prairie Village crown and 15 little girls in the Miss Prairie Princess part of the pageant.
Taylor Bird, Miss Prairie Village 2012, will be providing special music at the pageant. Part of her performance will be in preparation for when she competes for Miss South Dakota Outstanding Teen 2013 in Hot Springs on June 28. Overall, this year’s pageant in the Opera House promises to be an exceptionally fine event.
From June through the Jamboree, we have church services every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. at the Junius Church here at the village. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend worship services in this historic church that was built in 1906.