Sikeston Chamber encourages participation in Stampede Week

SIKESTON — The Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo returns in August, and area businesses are invited to participate in the Sikeston Regional Chamber’s Annual Stampede Week.

“Red, White and Bulls,” is this year’s theme for Stampede Week, which gives local chamber businesses the option to participate in a contest for the chance to win a rodeo prize package.

“We work with the rodeo chairman each year when discussing a theme,” said Taylor Deere, membership and program director of the Sikeston Regional Chamber. “This year’s chairman, Clay Driskill, suggested the theme, thinking it would have mass appeal, since we want as many people as possible to participate, and thought that lots of businesses may already have flags for Fourth of July items that would easily incorporate into this theme.”

According to Deere, there will be three go-round events: storefront decorations, rodeo trivia and a photo contest of pictures of teams donning their best Red, White and Bulls wear. Each of these go-round events will have a winner as well as first, second and third place prizes. 

Stampede Week will take place in the early part of rodeo week, which is Aug. 7-10. However, businesses need to register and decorate prior to the start of the rodeo.

“We will be going around on Tuesday, Aug. 6, to judge storefront decorations and bring rodeo trivia questions out to participating businesses,” Deere said. “Finally, the western wear photo contest, which is a ‘Facebook likes’ competition, will kick off the same day and go into Wednesday, Aug. 7.” 

This is the sixth year of Stampede Week, and Deere said businesses can participate in any or all of the three “go-round events” and earn points for each one.

“Businesses will also win points for how they place in each go-round event, which is how we will determine our first, second and third place overall Gold Buckle winners, who will receive the top prizes,” Deere said.

One of the highlights of Stampede Week, Deere said, is the ability for businesses to pick and choose what works best for their needs.

“We encourage businesses to sign up for all of the Stampede Week events, but if only one or two go-round events work for them, that’s OK,” Deere said. 

According to Deere, the Chamber is very excited for this year’s Stampede Week. 

“We love getting to be a part of the pride our town has in one of its greatest events,” Deere said. “This is essentially a spirit competition, a way to say thank you to the Jaycees and just a fun way to show your support and love for the Sikeston rodeo.”

According to Deere, the trivia and western wear photo contest were introduced to Stampede Week for the first time last year, and they have decided to bring them back this year.

Deere said there are generations of Jaycees and rodeo fans who enjoy both the rodeo and Stampede Week, which is why they also developed a trivia game to test the community’s knowledge of the Sikeston rodeo.

Deere said participating in Stampede Week is important for local businesses because it allows them to welcome rodeo fans. 

“Driving around town and seeing a lot of ‘welcome rodeo fans’ signs and rodeo-themed window paintings, and decorations just shows what a tight-knit community we are,” Deere said. “I think it’s important that our town is known for this event and we should own it.”

Deere said during the week, Sikeston typically has sold-out hotels and busier-than-ever restaurants as tourists arrive for the rodeo.

“I’d like for their impression of us to be: “Wow! This town really supports each other and gets excited for the rodeo,’” Deere said.

According to Deere, Stampede Week gets the community excited about rodeo while also providing an opportunity for some friendly competition. 

“At the heart of it, Stampede Week seeks to emphasize the importance of tradition,” Deere said. “For over 70 years now, many businesses have allowed or encouraged employees to wear jeans during Rodeo Week.”

The registration deadline for Stampede Week contests is Aug. 3 or register by July 26 for an extra point in the contest. To register, visit https://sikestonrodeo.com/stampede-week/.