NEWBERRY — Get your cowboy boots and hats ready, the Newberry Agriculture Expo and Rodeo returns this weekend at the PD Johnson Farm.
“The Rodeo is kind of the main event, we do have some agriculture related stuff — outreach and educational programs going on. There will also be fun and games throughout the weekend, but like I said the Rodeo from the South Carolina High School Rodeo Association is the main event,” said Joseph Berry, marketing coordinator for the Rodeo. “This is a stop for the circuit of the South Carolina High School Rodeo Association, they’re a group of high school kids that compete, they have a schedule they set at the beginning of the year and they travel around the state going to different rodeos.”
Berry added that they compete and earn points, which can qualify them for the state competitions and also national competitions.
“We’ve had some competitors make it on the national stage, and actually do really well in competition and place,” he said.
The events will include classic rodeo events, according to Berry, including calf roping, goat roping, barrel racing, pole racing and a lot more. Berry said the main event will be the bull riding.
“But there is a bunch of stuff happening throughout the night. There will be four to five competitors in each competition and their goal is to be as fast as possible in their event — and they are good at what they do,” he said.
The Rodeo is at 8 p.m., both Friday and Saturday — with gates opening at 6 p.m. both nights. Berry said they open the gates at 6 p.m. to give everyone enough time to have fun at the Kids Zone, ride the mechanical bull, get some food, and claim their spot for the Rodeo.
“For the Kids Zone, there are usually slides, bouncy houses, mechanical bulls, we have all kinds of fun and games stuff — those are sponsored by the Newberry Electric Cooperative and Clinton Newberry Natural Gas Authority,” Berry said.
There will be food vendors, and some non-profits selling food during the weekend — Berry said it will be carnival type food for the most part.
The cost to get into the Expo is $10 for adults, and five dollars for children 6-12 years old — children under six get in free. Military and first responders also get free entry with an ID.
“The money goes to our scholarship fund, where we give out scholarships to kids in Newberry County — not only agriculture, but other areas dealing with community involvement,” he said. “We are also looking to use some of the other funds for other educational purposes — like school gardens. We’ve reached out to our local contacts at the schools because we had extra funds because we didn’t have as many applicants last year.”
For anyone interested in coming to the Expo, Berry said the youths who participate work hard every year and they say the Newberry Rodeo is their favorite.
“They love this event, the crowd is really fun and it is a good time to catch up on agriculture history of Newberry County,” he said. “You are not only helping kids from around the state, but local kids with the scholarship and agriculture education.”
The PD Johnson Farm is located at 7556 S.C. 219 in Newberry.