Check out Ashcroft's agricultural pride, cowboy culture and creative community at the Ashcroft and District Fall Fair, the Ashcroft Arts and Crafts Show and Sale and local rodeo events.
This is also rodeo country, and the Ashcroft Stampede, Dead Man's Creek Rodeo, and Hat Creek Rodeo are among British Columbia's most popular rodeos. Enjoy traditional rodeo events, such as bull riding and calf roping, as well as western-themed parades and dances.
Ashcroft and District Fall Fair is usually held the first weekend in September at the Drylands Arena. It's an old fashioned country fair where residents provide live entertainment and participate in competitive exhibitions of food and livestock. Educational displays are also featured. Each year the fair has a different theme. In April the Ashcroft Arts and Crafts Show and Sale showcases the work of local artists.
Bonaparte Pow Wow
The Bonaparte Pow Wow, held in August at the Hat Creek Ranch (a 20-minute drive from Ashcroft), brings together Aboriginal drummers, dancers, and singers in celebration of their heritage. The powwow is a family-oriented three-day event. Also featured at the powwow is Aboriginal artwork and traditional cuisine.
Festivals in Cache Creek
Graffiti Days in Cache Creek is a 1950s themed festival featuring a classic car, truck, and motorbike show, a town BBQ, and dance. Graffiti Days is held in conjunction with the Langley Loafers Old Time Drags at the Eagle Motorplex.
Cache Creek's Cars on Ice is a mid-winter racing event where racers from all over British Columbia and Washington State take part in wheels-to-ice action.
On Mother's Day every year, Campbell Hill Airport on the edge of Cache Creek is the site of a huge fly-in of private aircraft. The celebration of local aviation history begins with a pancake breakfast and continues throughout the day with a variety of aircraft demonstrations.
Ashcroft Stampede
The Ashcroft Stampede is a community celebration of ranching life and western culture. Locally known as the "Biggest Little Rodeo in the West," the stampede opens with a pancake breakfast and continues with the Annual Rodeo Parade along Ashcroft's main street.
Dead Man's Creek Rodeo
Dead Man's Creek Rodeo is held every spring on the Skeetchestn First Nation Band rodeo grounds. The rodeo features bareback riding, saddle bronc and bull riding, as well as calf roping, team roping, ladies barrel racing, and others. The Annual Rodeo Dance is held at the Drylands Arena.
The rodeo grounds are five minutes by car from the community of Savona on the Trans-Canada Highway, at the southwestern end of Kamloops Lake, and 20 minutes from Cache Creek. The rodeo grounds are also easily seen from the highway, drawing many families from Kamloops and the surrounding area.
Hat Creek Rodeo
The Hat Creek Rodeo is a two-day event held in mid-July at Historic Hat Creek Ranch, 11 km/6mi north of Cache Creek. The rodeo combines traditional rodeo events with historical displays. Learn the history of the area's First Nations culture, take a stagecoach ride, or pan for gold. Hat Creek Ranch has a restaurant, newly constructed cabins, and many RV and tent sites.
For more information on festivals and events in the Ashcroft area, check with the Cache Creek Visitor Centre, just 15 minutes from town.
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