This week volunteers have been working hard to get the grounds ready for Nebraska's Big Rodeo in Burwell. The 88th Annual PRCA Rodeo and Garfield County Frontier Fair take place this week with different events every day.

Each year the goal of the Garfield County Frontier Fair Association's Board of Directors is to make the rodeo better than it was before by promoting family fun, a classic rodeo atmosphere, and the history of Nebraska's Big Rodeo. The first rodeo was held in Burwell in 1921, and this year will be the 88th annual rodeo performance in the same location.

The facilities at the rodeo are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Rodeo attendees sit in the same grandstands and see much of the same events as in the early years of Nebraska's Big Rodeo.

According to Dale Seidel, a member of the Board of Directors, some of the top cowboys and top livestock come to Burwell to compete in one of the largest outdoor arenas in the world.

Jeanie Klanecky, who works in the Rodeo Information Booth, said that a lot of people who make their first trip to the rodeo often come out saying they'll be back.

Events include bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, calf roping, and steer wrestling. There are other non-typical rodeo events too, such as the wild horse race, chuck wagon and chariot races, and the dinner bell derby. The wild horse race at Nebraska's Big Rodeo is a little different than in other rodeos because once saddled, the cowboys ride the horses all the way around the 3/4 mile track.

There will be 4 rodeo performances: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30, and an afternoon performance Saturday at 1:30. Seidel recommends getting your tickets early, because performances like the Saturday night one often sell out quickly.

This year's grand marshal is Michael Gaughan. Gaughan is a Nebraska native who has become a well known person in the rodeo world. He owns several casinos in Las Vegas, and is a board member of the National Finals Rodeo Committee.

A first this year will be the Rodeo Trolley. The hope is that rodeo goers can use the trolley and help alleviate parking and traffic congestion both before and after the rodeo. The trolley will be picking up and dropping off people at several businesses around the Burwell square, and transporting them to and from the historic rodeo archway gate.

To find out more about the rodeo, click on the links below, or to watch some video of this year's preparations, click on the video link above.