By Julie Johansen
When Emery County decided not to have a county fair in 2021, Castle Dale City moved its city celebration to the same week as the Cowboy Memorial Rodeo, Aug. 4-7. Activities began on Wednesday afternoon with the fourth annual Special Little Luau.
The event was at the Emery County Aquatic Center and hosted over 400 people. At this same time, 4-H exhibits were accepted at the recreation center in Castle Dale and judged later that day. This was a new event for Castle Dale Days to give local youth a place to exhibit their culmination projects for the year. Later in the evening, after dark, a free movie was shown at the fairgrounds park.
On Thursday, the scavenger hunt and 4-H exhibit display began at 4 p.m. and the barbecue for $2 was served by the Castle Dale City Council, Castle Dale City Fire Department, Emery County Business Chamber and Miss Emery Royalty at the park. Following the barbecue, a local favorite, the kids’ rodeo, was once again an all-time hit.
On Friday, the first night of the Cowboy’s Memorial Rodeo (CMR) was attended by a large crowd. The entertainment and events planned by the high school rodeo team and CMR crew for the rodeo were definite crowd pleasers, from the One Armed Bandit, Buddy Barrel Race, Circle of Fear and Mexican bull fights to the traditional rodeo events.
Saturday was the busiest day, beginning with a breakfast at 7 a.m. The poker run signups and departure began at the stock corrals just north of town at 8 a.m. A larger-than-usual parade on Castle Dale Main Street began at 10 a.m. with the streets lined from 5th East to Center Street.
Next, the crowds moved to the fairgrounds park for various games. The games included a climbing wall, fish pond, sand treasure hunt, cake walk, cornhole and various entrepreneur booths. A motorcycle rodeo in the indoor arena drew participants, both youth and adult, from throughout the state. A cornhole tournament just before the final night of the rodeo finished 2021’s Castle Dale Days.
