Annual Pendleton Round-Up Ready to ‘Let ’er Buck’
- August 30, 2024
Pendleton — perhaps the country’s most authentic Western lifestyle vacation destination — will once again welcome guests from across the country to the Pendleton Round-Up, to be held this year from Sept. 11 through Sept. 14. Fortunately for residents of the Mid-Columbia, Walla Walla and surrounding areas, this acclaimed celebration of Western culture is just a short drive away.
To get there, you may travel on a route established during the Oregon Trail emigration, and you’ll be met with genuine hospitality. After harvest, residents of the Pendleton area come down from the rolling eastern Oregon wheat fields to celebrate the round-up of cowboys, Native Americans, family members and friends. History and culture are on full display in recognition of the indomitable spirit of horses and the men and women who ride them.
The 2024 Pendleton Round-Up will be America’s largest four-day PRCA Rodeo, but it remains true to its legendary origins. The action takes place on a pristine grass infield, where colorful wooden chute gates create the most picturesque backdrop in rodeo. It’s where top cowboy competitors recline in the sun and cheer each other on, just as they might have done more than a hundred years ago.
Native Americans
The Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla Indians were rounding up horses in the area long before the rodeo began. Tribal participation at the Pendleton Round-Up provides historic cultural context with a living display of hundreds of tipis, or tepees, plus traditional foods, music and artisans.
Week-long celebration
Although the rodeo arena heats up starting Sept. 11, there are activities all week long. Events kick off on Saturday, Sept. 7, with the downtown Dress-Up Parade at 10 a.m. and the Kick-off Concert at 7 p.m. with country-music star Clay Walker. He’ll be joined by special guest performer Eddie Montgomery.
A Hall of Fame Banquet will take place on Sunday, Sept. 8. And on Sept. 9 there’ll be a golf tournament at 8 a.m.; team roping, breakaway roping and barrel racing slack at 9:30 a.m.; and Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale at 8 p.m.
More timed-event slack will take place at 8:30 Tuesday morning, and more Xtreme Bulls action at 8 o’clock that evening.
Wednesday-Saturday
From Wednesday through Saturday, you can start the day with a VFW breakfast from 6 to 10 a.m. in Stillman Park. On Thursday, the Junior American Indian Beauty contest is at 10 a.m. in Roy Raley Park and a children’s rodeo starts at 10:30. The Westward Ho! Parade at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, is an iconic display of wagons, stagecoaches and buggies.
The four days of PRCA Round-Up action begin at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, which is family day and “Farmers Ending Hunger” day. Thursday is “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” day to raise awareness of breast cancer, Friday is Wrangler National Patriot Day, and Saturday is for the rodeo finals and a new cause with the introduction of the “Golden Circle of Champions,” raising funds for families with children fighting cancer.
The four-night Happy Canyon Indian Pageant and Wild West Show at 7:45 p.m. each night portrays the epic story of the old West, with authentic Native American traditions followed by Wild West Hijinks. And after each night’s pageant you can enjoy live country music at Goldie’s Bar at the Canyon. You’ll be admitted free with your Happy Canyon ticket or you can pay a $5 cover charge.
To plan your visit and purchase tickets, visit pendletonroundup.com. Then, “Let ’er Buck!”
