Sisters Rodeo finds online path to sold-out shows

The Sisters Rodeo has been around since 1940. It brings in about $250,000 every year. Organizers said ticket sales this year are better than they have been in the past.

They point to one main reason.

” We finally joined the 21st century, and we’re selling tickets online. That’s been a big boom, ” Sisters Rodeo Secretary Bonnie Malone said Friday evening.

Malone said a majority of tickets purchased this year were through the website. She said that’s why the Saturday afternoon show sold out a week in advance. That’s never happened before.

So where does all the money go?

” We’re involved with a whole lot of entities in the community, and it’s a big fundraiser for them, ” Malone said.

A portion of the profit benefits Sisters schools and the Cloverdale Fire Department. The rest of it goes right back into the rodeo. Cowboys and cowgirls compete for $10,000 purses in each event.

” A lot of the good cowboys come here because it’s good money , ” Malone said.

The people working behind the scenes are just as important, Malone said. ” The really special thing about this rodeo is that we’re an all-volunteer organization. ”

That means everyone you see wearing a yellow vest or a name tag is working for free. Malone said there are more than 200 volunteers that help make the event possible.

Nancy Berney , a rodeo volunteer for the last seven years, said, ” It’s the one week of the year where everything stops, and my husband has to put all his life aside, because we have to do this every year. ”

There are three more shows at the Sisters Rodeo this weekend. The final performance is at 1 p.m. Sunday.