Abilene gets ready for Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo, Central Kansas Free Fair in August

Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
·2 min read
Will Krehbiel, of McPherson, leans forward in the saddle as his horse puts his front feet over the fence during the 2019 edition of the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene. The rodeo is back in the city for its 76th edition Aug. 3 to Aug. 6.
Will Krehbiel, of McPherson, leans forward in the saddle as his horse puts his front feet over the fence during the 2019 edition of the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene. The rodeo is back in the city for its 76th edition Aug. 3 to Aug. 6.

ABILENE — In what has been voted multiple times as one of the top outdoor events on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo is back in central Kansas the first week of August.

The 76th edition of the rodeo runs from Aug. 3 to Aug. 6 at the Eisenhower Park Fairgrounds with more than 500 cowboys and cowgirls competing for more than $37,500 in added prize money.

This year, the PRCA will host bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing events throughout the three-day rodeo, with these professional events beginning each day at 7:30 p.m.

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The rodeo is part of the longer event, the Central Kansas Free Fair (CKFF), which kicks off with the Western Downtown Parade at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4 beginning at Seventh Street, parading south down Buckeye Avenue to Third Street and then west to the fairgrounds.

A popular tradition is back at the parade this year, with the driving of longhorn cattle to the grounds as well.

Abilene's largest event

The fair and rodeo is one of Abilene's largest events, and one that people in the community get excited for.

"If you look at our restaurants and listen downtown, you hear the clinks of spurs walking down the sidewalk from all the cowboys in town," said Julie Roller Weeks, director of the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau. "You'll see all the people lined up for the parade and all the chairs that go out early in the morning."

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She said the city comes alive during events like this.

"You can certainly feel it in our community when the fair and the rodeo are taking place," Weeks said.

Tickets for the event are available now at www.ckff.net/tickets, and at various locations in Abilene and other cities in central Kansas, including Walco Animal Health and Vanderbilt's in Salina. Tickets bought before Aug. 3 are $10 for adults. Tickets at the gate during the event are $13 and youth tickets for ages four to 10 are $7.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Abilene hosting 2022 Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo and fair