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From the midway and carnival rides, to the turkey legs and funnel cakes, this event had all the typical fair attractions.
But if offered even more…a rodeo. A livestock pavilion. A tractor pull. A Kid Zone. Live concerts from headliners such as Jack Ingram and Randy Rogers. And a live shark experience – yes, sharks at a rodeo.
In other words, there was something to entertain everyone.
CoServ Electric, a Red Ribbon sponsor, was dispatched to cover the event. Armed with my notepad in one hand and a corny dog dripping mustard as if to trace my path, I set off to experience the fair firsthand.
The first thing I noticed was the strong resilience to heat us Texans have. In fact, most of the passersby wore jeans…but a quick check of my iPhone™ told me the outside temperature was a balmy 105°. But hey, we’re Texans. Heat wave, shmeat wave!
The first area I visited was the Kid Zone. A zone in which I belong, if you ask my wife. The petting zoo seemed tame enough, but the rock climbing wall? Anything higher than your normal stepladder and I am out—these kids were scaling a 15-foot high wall like Spiderman, apparently oblivious to the butterflies break-dancing in my stomach.
Next up was the Live Shark Experience. During the presentation, one of the handlers donned a wetsuit and plopped right into the tank to swim with the sharks. While I was questioning the “live” part of this exhibit’s name, the handler seemed right at home….if your home contains brown and lemon sharks circling you from head to toe.
Then the rodeo started. A graceful presentation of flags kicked off the event (the first time in an hour my corn dog hand stopped shaking long enough for a clean bite). Next was the rugged steer wrestling, which would seem to be a disadvantage for the steer until you remember the cowboy is leaving the comfort of a perfectly safe saddle to jump—backside first, mind you—onto the ground. Last but not least, the bull riding event commenced. I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed driving my one-ton truck, especially in the rain. Comparatively, these good fellows seemed right at home “driving” a one-ton animal, none of which looked to be in the greatest of moods. Fortunately, the competition ended without so much as any contestant getting a scratch, and no rodeo clowns were road-graded into the dirt.
Getting ready to leave and having lost the corny dog eating contest I was competing in against myself, I took one last look around and realized…everyone was having fun. Even the girl at the dunking tank getting doused repeatedly by the patron whizzing Nolan Ryan-esque fastballs was smiling. It felt like being a part of a community, which I realized, is one of the seven guiding principles of a cooperative like CoServ Electric. And that was the perfect end to a fun-filled night—feeling that sense of pride in the community that we strive to serve.
For more information about CoServ Electric’s community initiatives, visit the Community Events page on CoServ.com.
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