SIKESTON -- Here's a reason to rhyme: free rodeo tickets.
Poets of all ages are invited to submit their best original work with a rodeo or cowboy theme for the Sikeston Depot Museum's first "Poetry of the Rodeo" contest.
"We thought a lot of people like to write country western songs," said Mike Marsh, Depot Museum director. "After all, a cowboy poem is just a country and western song without the music!"
Selected poems will be read Aug. 8-9 during the Cowboy Up! Art Festival and displayed at the Sikeston Depot Museum.
"The Jaycees are going to give whomever has the winning poem and their family tickets to the rodeo," Marsh said, "and they will read their poem at the rodeo."
The deadline to submit rodeo poems is 4 p.m. Aug. 1.
"The contest is free to anyone who wants to enter," Marsh said. "They can either send their entry to the Depot at P.O. Box 182 or drop it off at the Depot at 116 West Malone Ave."
Returning to the Depot for the second year is the Cowboy Up! Kids' Art Contest.
"We were really happy with it last year," Marsh said. "We thought it went really well but we would like to have more entries."
In addition to other prizes for the art contest, a special grand prize will be awarded: tickets to the rodeo for the winning artist and their family.
"Plus the Jaycees are going to make a rodeo T-shirt design out of the winning art," Marsh said.
The Cowboy Up! Kids' Art Contest has two age categories: ages 7 and under and ages 8-12.
Artwork should be subject matter which fits the rodeo and no larger than 11 by 14 inches and must include the artist's name and age on the bottom of the front of artwork.
Artwork entries will be accepted from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Aug. 4-6 at the Depot Museum. This contest is also free to enter.
A showing of submitted kids' art will also be held during the Cowboy Up! Arts Festival from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Aug. 7-9.
After the Cowboy Up! Festival is over, entrants can come pick up their poems and artwork.
"We'd like to thank the Jaycees and their rodeo committee for being so cooperative with these two competitions," Marsh said. "It proves that the arts and cowboys can live together."
The event is sponsored in part by a grant from the Missouri Arts Council.
For more information, call the Sikeston Depot Museum at 481-9967 or come by the Depot and pick up a flyer.