Boley Rodeo Makes Improvements To Arena Ahead Of Memorial Day Weekend

It’s a Memorial Day weekend tradition for thousands of people from all over the country, but this year things will look a lot different.

“The rodeo started back in the early nineteen hundreds, around nineteen three,” said Henrietta Halloway Hicks, with the Boley Chamber of Commerce.

It has always been a pretty big deal for one of Oklahoma’s few remaining all-black towns, “Oh, listen, people from everywhere come, one year I think we had about fifty thousand people, now that’s a lot for Boley,” said Hicks.

For a town that boasts a population of around one thousand, that is huge. “This town is so full of people the people that live here can’t find their houses sometimes,” said Hicks.

This is a must-attend event for people even outside Oklahoma. “One year we took a little tally and I think we had five foreign countries that year,” said Hicks.

But after years of wear and tear the rodeo arena was starting to show its age. “It needed a lot of love,” said Karen Ekuban, with The Boley Legacy Consortium.

Ekuban grew up in Boley attending the rodeo. Her group won the bid to take over the rodeo, and her first matter of business was a much-needed facelift. “A lot of the feedback that we got was that the arena was too small, so we decided to extend it fifty feet,” said Ekuban.

They also replaced the worn-out bleachers, upgraded the concession stand, and cut the grass. “The grass was probably above our heads, like right up about here,” said Ekuban.

There has been work done to the announcers’ stand, new bull pins, and more upgrades on the way. “I’m more than happy with where we are now,” said Ekuban.  

“Listen, all you have to do is just come on to Boley we’ll have all you need,” said Hicks.

In addition to the rodeo, there will also be a huge parade, a car show, a concert, games, and food trucks. For more information visit Boley Rodeo on Instagram, or visit their website: www.thetownofboley.org