Fun, exciting way to start Crooked River Roundup
By Keisha Burns, KTVZ.COM
Prineville's historic Crooked River Roundup kicked off Wednesday evening in traditional, visual fashion.
It's a rodeo, quilt show and horse race, but the start to the festivities rides right through Prineville, as the herd of cattle ran from Third Street to Main Street, before continuing south to the Crook County Fairgrounds.
Onlookers said it's an annual event that's hard to miss.
One youngster said the cattle didn't scare him at all.:"They were running down the street really fast and it didn't scare me."
About 40 head of cattle rumbled their way downtown in a matter of minutes.
Onlooker Greg Munn said last year the cattle drive kicked off an hour late, but this year, it happened right on time.
"This year it started more on time, but there was also probably three times the amount of cattle, so it was kind of fun to see it," Munn said.
Fun to see, but Becky Munn said at one point, it looked like the cattle got lost.
"They went down a different way and the dogs were chasing after the cattle, the horses were chasing after the dog," she said. "But it was fun. Eventually they ended up going where they were supposed to."
And they did, the cattle headed east on Third and south down Main in downtown Prineville, ending at the fairgrounds.
In recent years, a few Prineville residents have had concerns about the cattle and potential damage to property.
But this year, officials say residents will have nothing to worry about.
The round-up events don't stop here. On Thursday, a kick off party kicks off from 6-9pm at Stafford Inn, on Friday western dayz kicks off all day long in downtown Prineville. Also, a rodeo slack performance will kick off at 8am and the PRCA rodeo at 7pm, both at the fairgrounds.
On Saturday look for the 13th annual country quilt show of Prineville, from 9am to 4pm at the crooked river grade school gym, the roundup parade at 10 am in downtown, and an after party at the fairgrounds.
The 63rd annual crooked river roundup (www.crookedriverroundup.com) is considered one of the oldest family entertainment events in Oregon. The races and rodeo events run through July 12th.
