Kikino suffers the growing pains of success

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Some people consider 13 an unlucky number, but the only bad luck for the Kikino Metis Settlement in their 13th year of hosting the Kikino Celebration Days and Silver Birch Rodeo is the event has grown so popular it's outgrowing the facility.

"We're at a point where we have to go bigger or smaller," said settlement administrator Roger Littlechilds. "We can't stay at the midway point anymore. Parking is becoming a big problem and there's not much room to expand."

The rodeo grounds at the Silver Birch Resort were packed with spectators for three out of four days of the Aug. 8 to 11 event. Littlechilds said attendance was around 500 for the first day, when only chuckwagon and chariot races were running. But once the rodeo kicked off on Friday, attendance soared to 2,100 a day.

Rodeo fans filled all the bleachers to standing room only. Other events on the grounds also drew large crowds, even while the rodeo was running. These events included a two-day talent contest, a small midway for the kids, pony rides, a horseshoe tournament, pancake breakfasts, and steak barbecues. Flat races, the Adrian Hope Memorial mile race for runners, a parade, a rodeo dance, and fireworks rounded out a weekend full of activities.

All the campsites at the resort were sold out weeks in advance, and overflow camping spilled into the parking area. The rodeo events drew 372 competitors, up 17 per cent from the previous year. There was a 30 per cent increase in entries in the chariot and chuckwagon races, with 93 outfits signed up for four days of racing.

The prize money of $2,500 per major rodeo event has always been a big draw for cowboys and cowgirls, and as the number of competitors grows, so does the entry fee amount kicked into the prize pot. But money is not the only attraction. It's also a chance to compete in front of a large, knowledgeable crowd, the country setting with camping right on the site, the great rodeo stock and super organization, and the festive atmosphere that has characterized the event for years.

For Kikino the problem is the only room for expansion of the site is into forested areas.

"We could go north of the (horserace) tracks," Littlechilds said, "but we don't want to be cutting down all the trees. It takes away from the site."

Another problem area is the beach where the Sunday night fireworks are set off, preceded by open air live music. The reputation of the fireworks draws people from many surrounding communities, and the site with three steep backs surrounding a cove on Whitefish Lake is ideal. But with only one road in, traffic control can be a nightmare.

"The fireworks were packed," Littlechilds said. "It took people up to an hour to get out."

Finding solutions to the problem of growth will occupy the rodeo organizers this winter. One factor they can be sure of is the crowds will continue to grow as people spread the word that it's the best rodeo for a county mile, and gets better every year.