Pick Of The Week : That Famous Preston Night Rodeo, July 26-28, 2012 - Preston, Idaho

Did anyone make it out to the Gallery Walk, last week's POTW? (Pick of the Week, in case my acronym threw you.) I would have loved to go, but my children came down with the plague...er, Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (not as horrifying as it sounds, but still no fun). It's been making its way through the under-10 set in our neighborhood and family at a rapid pace this summer. We had to quarantine ourselves, and we missed not only the Gallery Walk, but a company party at the Bees baseball game/firework show in Salt Lake City. Boo for viruses!

Hopefully it will be all cleared up in time for this week's POTW, "That Famous Preston Night Rodeo" in Preston, ID, which runs this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday July 26-28, 2012.

Morgan Heaton on Wendy's Rocket in 2011. Quoted in article here.

Though not in Utah, Preston is definitely still in Cache Valley. They have one of the best little small-town rodeos around, and it's surely worth a visit if you haven't been. My brother-in-law Morgan (sometimes "Moe") Heaton will be riding on Saturday night if you want to know who to cheer for. He's been a bareback rider for going on eight years now. That's him pictured above. You can also see an awesome photo of him and his little son getting ready in the bucking chutes here (lots of amazing rodeo photography at that site, www.mattcohenphoto.com).

Have you ever been to a rodeo and felt clueless about the events and how they are scored? A little knowledge can make the rodeo a lot more fun for spectators. Check out the Preston rodeo's website for helpful explanations of the events and scoring. The website also explains something I've always been curious about: why this rodeo is called the "Famous Preston Night Rodeo". After all, every rodeo I've ever been to has been at night. I guess that wasn't always the case. Preston rodeo says they are recognized as the first night rodeo in the world, and they became famous for it. I guess with a start time of 8:30pm it is one of the latest/darkest rodeos I've ever been to. That adds to the fun, I think. There are lots of pre-events like a parade and carnival and even helicopter rides that caught my eye ($25 per person). Check this page for the full schedule.


What: That Famous Preston Night Rodeo
When: July 26-28, 2012 - Rodeo pre-events at 8:15pm, rodeo starts at 8:30pm. Associated events all day.
Where: Preston Rodeo Grounds, 198 W 2nd N Street, Preston, Idaho
Rodeo Ticket Prices: Thursday $9 and $8,  Friday $12 and $11,  Saturday $12 and $11
www.prestonrodeo.com for more information and online ticket purchase

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As for me, I'll be missing Morgan's ride on Saturday because my husband and I have tickets to a concert in Salt Lake. Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and say it. We're going to the Neil Diamond concert. We've actually never been to a big concert together, and this, THIS, is the first one??!? Well, I figured we may not have many chances left to see old Neil, and I hear he's a great performer. Anyone ever been? We'll have to hit the Preston rodeo on Friday night.

Calendars Of Events and Things To Do in Logan & Cache Valley

You'll notice I have a tab above that says "Event Calendar". I hope to add a calendar of my own in the future, but in the meantime I have added links to other calendars that list Cache Valley and Logan events. None of these calendars are comprehensive, but they are helpful. In addition to these links, the print edition of the Herald Journal, particularly the Cache Magazine that comes in Friday's paper, lists many local events.

The local event on my family's docket tonight is the Star Spangled Rodeo in Hyrum, Utah. The event is sponsored by the Hyrum Saddle Club and uses Hyrum City's rodeo grounds, which were refurbished in the past year. Hope we have fun, and that a bull doesn't kick manure in my slushy (that happened to me one year, true story!).

Here are the links that now appear on the calendar page:

Kids All Around Cache Valley Calendar  - Calendar and blog of kid-friendly things to do in Cache Valley

NothingToDoInLogan?com Activity Calendar - Activity calendar for Cache Valley

Cache Valley Daily Community Calendar - User-submitted Cache Valley events

Cache Valley Visitors Bureau Calendar of Events

Logan Library Community Events Calendar

Utah State University has three calendars on their website, none of which is comprehensive:

USU Arts & Entertainment Calendar

USU Student Calendar (ASUSU)

USU Events Calendar (This one will bring up a past date. Click the "Events Calendar" link to bring it to present date.)

I'll admit that after seeing how many calendars are available and how each one is not comprehensive, I'm questioning my ability to create a helpful calendar that adds anything of value. I will put that idea on the back burner while I work on other content and daily posts on Lisa Loves Logan.

Be back on Monday with that post about how to have a great day trip to Logan Cache Valley with young kids. Also coming next week are reviews of our recent visit to Herm's Inn and La Tormenta. See you then!

LLL