The rodeo is held at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds, located at 200 Linden Street on the South side of Cherokee.

Please enter through the gate on Linden Street and park on the South side of the Fairgrounds.

The Cherokee PRCA Rodeo is a family friendly event.  A petting zoo, pony rides, and children’s train will be available all 3 nights.  There will be free pony rides and a free petting zoo on Thursday.  There will be a small fee on Friday and Saturday.

Thursday is family night.  All children 12 and under are admitted FREE with a paid adult. There will be additional activities for the kids on this night.

The kid’s rodeo, including Muttin Bustin, will be offered on Thursday night only. Please review the information on the Kid’s Events Page.

Muttin Bustin participants must be 6-9 years of age and 75 lbs and under to participate.  Please review the entry form for additional details. More information

To register your entry for the Rodeo Parade, please visit our website.  You may either print the entry form or complete the online entry form.  All parade entries must be submitted to the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and you can contact them at 712-225-6414 with any questions.

Please return your entry to the chamber by May 24 to be included in the line-up and to guarantee your information is included for the parade announcers to read.

We will begin to line up parade entries at 2:00 PM on Saturday at the Washington High School parking lot. We ask that everyone be at the school by 3:30 PM so we may begin the parade at 4:00 PM sharp.

Committee volunteers will distribute numbers and line you up when you arrive.  Please note we DO NOT mail parade numbers ahead of time.

Larger entries, such as trucks and trailers, will line up on along West Bluff Street – toward the swimming pool.  Committee volunteers will bring you your number and help you get lined up.

For everyone’s safety, we ask that only vehicles going through the parade enter the school parking lot.  If you have additional people riding or walking with your entries we ask that you:
1) have everyone meet you before you come to the school and have them ride together or
2) have them park at the community center parking lot and walk across the street to meet your entry.

We also suggest that you share cell phone numbers with everyone in your group so you can find one another during line-up.

The parade route begins at Washington High School and travels down Bluff Street to Hwy 59.

The route continues South on Hwy 59, ending at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds.

There will be a parade announcer at the corner of Hwy 59 and Main Street.

You can also tune into KCHE – 92.1 FM to hear the parade commentary.

No.  At this time, we do not offer a rodeo queen contest.

Please contact the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce if your business is interested in helping sponsor the Cherokee PRCA Rodeo. We have a number of sponsor levels, ranging from $125 to $3,000.

Please understand that some sponsorship opportunities may have limited availability, and in some cases a waiting list.

We are happy to visit with you about sponsorship opportunities that will work for your business.

The Cherokee PRCA Rodeo is sanctioned with the PRCA and WPRA.  We are located in the Great Lakes Circuit and the rodeo is co-approved with the Badlands Circuit and the Prairie Circuit. Only card carrying members may compete in the rodeo.  Sign up is handled through the rodeo secretary.

We have limited space for vendors at the rodeo, however we do allow for a small number of Western Vendors to set up at the rodeo. We do not allow the sale of trick ropes, noisemakers of any type, imitation cigarettes, or any other item that the rodeo board deems inappropriate for this family event or is covered by an exclusive vendor contract. Please note that we have a vendor who has paid for exclusive rights to sell cowboy hats at our event.

Additional guidelines apply to food vendors and we do not allow for duplication of food products.  Beverages can only be sold by the Rodeo Committee.

Vendor contracts along with ½ of the fee are due to the rodeo headquarters by May 1.  Costs go up after May 1 and NO vendors will be accepted after May 23.

For more information on becoming a vendor at the Cherokee PRCA Rodeo, or to receive a contract, contact the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce at 712-225-6414 or e-mail director@cherokeeiowachamber.com

The Rodeo Committee operates a small food stand at the rodeo. They will sell nachos, popcorn and pizza by the slice.

Additional food vendors on the premise will include:

Mini donuts
Kettle Corn
Sandwiches

Coke products, including Gatorade, as well as tea and lemonade are also sold.

The Beer Garden will be open beginning at 6:00 PM each evening.

NO, there is a foodstand and concession stands available at the rodeo.  Spectators should NOT bring their own food or beverage into the rodeo grounds. Coolers are not allowed.

Campsites with electrical, water and sewer hookups are available at Koser Spring Lake Park in Cherokee (less than a mile from the Fairgrounds). Visit http://cherokeeiowa.net/camping for more information or call 712-225-2715.

There are also County Parks available in Cherokee County for camping.  Modern campsites are available at Martins Access (15 miles North and East of the Fairgrounds) and Silver Sioux Recreation Area (9 miles South and West of the Fairgrounds)  For more information on County Parks, visit http://www.cherokeecountyparks.com/  or call 712-225-6709 or e-mail Cherokeeccb@gmail.com