Hanceville bullish on rodeo, parade, & tractor show

Benjamin Bullard, The Cullman Times, Ala.
·2 min read

Jun. 7—If you're in Hanceville this weekend and catch a whiff or two of something that smells, well, a little agricultural, there's a perfectly good reason — several reasons, in fact.

On Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11, the city will play host to a series of family-friendly events that evoke the spirit of the great outdoors, and there's a certain synergy between them. Pro rodeo cowboys and their wild-west mounts will converge on downtown Hanceville streets at 5 p.m. Friday for the city's first-ever "Parade of the Bulls," a free event that showcases the buckin', snortin' animals that will take center stage the following day at the Hanceville Bull Bash.

Staged by the Eutaw, Alabama-based Double Creek Rodeo Company, Saturday's Bull Bash serves as the main event after Friday's parade heats up the wild-west hype. Gates to C.W. Day Park will open at 7 p.m. for the rodeo, with the $12 pre-sale admission ($15 at the gate) also letting fans in for a bonus concert from 2018 American Idol standout Brandon Elder.

Also on Saturday, Wallace State Community College will host the 24th annual Hanceville Antique Tractor & Engine Show, which this year also doubles as the setting for the statewide tractor show staged by the International Harvester Collectors club of Alabama. The tractor show is a free event, and one that's hard to miss: Just head to the Wallace State campus and look for a sea of Farmall Cub red and John Deere green.

Tractors and fascinating farm implements through historic eras of American agriculture will be on display on the grounds at Wallace State, along with tons of fun activities from skillet tossing to to pedal-tractor races. A shrimp boil and homemade ice cream will keep guests from going hungry, as the 9 a.m. event wends into the afternoon. There'll even be a ticket giveaway for Saturday evening's Bull Bash (there's that synergy at work), and there's no admission fee to attend the show. Find the event on Facebook @HancevilleTractorShow for additional updates as this year's show draws closer.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.