April 29, 2023 – What always starts at the end of April, commences into the Clovis Rodeo Parade hosted by the Clovis Rodeo Association.
Although the Parade kicks things off for the Rodeo, events, including a performance from country band LOCASH, had been occurring on their rodeo grounds all week since Monday with qualifiers vying for an opportunity.
The Parade itself, brought back for the second year after Covid-19, was an event to behold with masses of people crowding the streets of downtown Clovis.
Lining the blocks up and down Pollasky and Clovis avenues, spectators were treated to floats, marching bands, horse drawn carriages and much more as Clovis specialties made their way through Old Town.
While the Parade has been around for a while, coinciding with the events of the Rodeo, a few of the spectators themselves were attending for the first time. This includes Koyeh, an Australian native, visiting America for the first time.
“This is my first time in America and it’s quite a different vibe. The way people are sitting-the country side where I live in [in Australia] has quite a different vibe. We don’t have this.”
Koyeh went on to state that while seeing parades on tv, he hadn’t ever really seen a parade in person before. On his first time visiting Clovis, Koyeh said, “It has a country vibe for sure, the people, the music-they’re very keen to looking forward to the parade.”
Other first time viewers said that they definitely noticed the size of the crowd and the amounts of people that the parade attracts. While not attending the Rodeo itself, the parade proved to show its power in bringing outside viewers to downtown Clovis.
Other spectators who have been to the parade before recollected their thoughts on why they come out and how attending can become a tradition in itself.
“It’s always something to do and you can bring the family out. Everybody’s really friendly.”
“My favorite part is the bands….We’ve been coming to the parade probably over 30-something years. We sit in the same spot. [To beat the crowd] We get here probably 8:45, 9 o’clock.”
“It’s a family tradition. My husband’s family’s been coming down here for I don’t know, what, 40-50 years in the same spot.”
Others attending the parade were in attendance to support family and loved ones, especially those in High School and Middle School Marching Bands.
“My son and my daughter are in the parade…My son’s in the Clark [Intermediate] and my daughter’s going to be in the ‘Into the Blue’ [float].”
“[Our favorite is] Probably the middle and the high school kids. We’re just here to support my sister. They’re gonna be in the Clovis High/Clark section.”
And of course, many of those who attended the parade also attend the Rodeo at some point during the week. Talks of the Professional Bull Riding, Live Concerts, and Barrel Racing were at the forefront of some of the “favorite” events. “We like it all, we just go out to watch whatever.”
Speaking of “liking it all”, one of the more major points of events like the Rodeo and the Parade is the sense of community and being able to run into friends or family at a sizable event such as this. This point was made by an elderly couple on one of the final turns of the parade.
“We just like to come up and see all the people in the street. Some of them are people we know and that’s why we come, to see the people.”