The City of Red Deer has stepped up to become a major sponsor for this year’s Canadian Finals Rodeo.
Red Deer city council approved a $50,000 sponsorship for the 2022 CFR on Tuesday. It means the City of Red Deer will be the co-presenting sponsor of the 48th Canadian Finals Rodeo, which is scheduled to take place on Nov. 2-6 at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
“We are proud to support the Canadian Finals Rodeo once again,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “This event will continue to highlight Red Deer on the national stage and showcase our community as a premier destination for events of all sizes.”
He sees the sponsorship as “truly an investment in our local tourism and hospitality industries.”
The funding will comes from the city’s Event Hosting and Outgoing Sponsorship funds. It was approved in 2020 to further the development and diversification of major events in Red Deer, under the Major Event Strategy and Destination Development Framework.
After the 2022 CFR sponsorship,$91,100 still remains in the fund.
City Council approved the Red Deer major events framework in April 2021. It was designed to strengthen the community’s readiness to attract and host new major events and position Red Deer as a premier tourism and event destination in Canada.
As part of its implementation, the city has been working with Tourism Red Deer and other key stakeholders to develop the Tourism Red Deer Business Plan. The goal is to strengthen major events, tourism marketing, and destination development.
A line-up of events for the 48th Canadian Finals Rodeo was also announced on Tuesday.
There will be a “Cabaret Corral” of country music entertainment with doors opening at 4 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and at 10:30 am on the Saturday.
The entertainers will be Hanna musician Garrett Gregory on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Calgary-based, award-nominated singer Brettyn Rose on Thursday, Nov. 3rd (Her tune Making Progress, was the #1 Most Active Indie Song at Canadian Radio in its first week of release).
Drew Gregory, a Country Music Alberta Horizon Male, YYC Male Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (Better in a Bar), and Album of the Year winner will perform on Friday, Nov. 4. Gregory recently took home $50,000 from Project Wild to help advance his career.
Ben Chase is the entertainer on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Prince Edward Island native has won Fans’ Choice at the Country Music Alberta Awards and has four charting hits on country radio. After spending four years in Alberta, Chase has recently made the move to Nashville to work on his songwriting.
These artists will be backed by the CFR All-Star Band, a collection of Canadian musicians who have earned dozens of Canadian Country Music Awards and Hall-of-Fame Honours.
Nightly buckles presentations will be held at about 9:30 p.m., and the music will continue with D.J. B-Town until the 1 a.m. last call.
For more details, including performance times, visit CFRRedDeer.ca.