The Dryden & District Agricultural Society has been very, very busy over the last few weeks. The DDAS Fall Fair is in the books for 2026 and now another big event is coming up in just a matter of days.
President of the Dryden & District Agricultural Society is Lisa Koshel. Lisa was a guest on the CKDR Morning Show on Tuesday….
Listen here:
….or read below.
“You know, we had a great fair this year. We had great weather. We had tons of people through the gate. There’s always a lot of work that goes into planning it, but it always leaves you on a very high note when you know that you’ve had a successful event. So we got that in the books, as you say. Now we’re switching gears and gearing up for our next event, our 807 Bulls and Barrels.”
This particular event, it’s brand new for the Dryden area. Lisa take us back to the planning and how all this came about.
“So we are partnered with Crossfire BullRiding out of Manitoba, and we’ve had some locals that have gone out to the events there. And shout out to Kirsten Fenwick, who really was the driver behind getting the information and proposing the new event for us. Also, Dryden Tourism came on very early with support, and Tyler Peacock was an amazing voice for us as well. So this has been about 18 months in the making. Because the bull riding is so successful out West we had limited times that we could book it. So September long weekend was available, and after much deliberation, we decided to go for it. So that’s where we are.”
Tell us about how things are going to unfold. The days, events, what is going to be happening and when.
“So it’s a really full schedule. It happens on Friday and Saturday. The barrel racing portion has a pre-run for it, so a qualifier that will be happening on Friday afternoon. We have two local girls that have qualified already through the different series that we run locally. Kiya Fenwick has qualified through the Waldorf Wrangler series, and Kirsten Fenwick has qualified through the Northern Lights Quarter Horse Association series. So the event takes 10 barrel racers, and the other eight spots are up for grabs. So Friday, September 4th, all the barrel racers will flood into Dryden to try to qualify for those eight spots. That starts at noon on Friday, and after that, we’ll be announcing who our 10 qualifiers are.”
Talk about the bull riding….
“So the bull riding is super exciting as well. There will be competitors from all across Western Canada coming to compete for the prize money. We’ve got $10,000 up for grabs, as well as points to qualify them for their year-end awards. And so we’re really just super excited to get those bulls in, get the thrill of the ride going, and have people come out and see what barrel racing and bull riding both are all about.”
How do we get tickets?
“Five and under are free to get in, but every other ticket is $40. We try to keep it super reasonable for this type of event. So basically, you buy your ticket for Friday, or you buy your ticket for Saturday, and then we have an after-party both days as well. So you can bundle the after-party ticket with the bull riding ticket, or you can just come to the bull riding, or you can just come to the after-party. So on our website at https://drydenfair.ca/807-bulls-%26-barrels all the tickets are laid out and it’s super easy to purchase them from there.”
A huge event like this would not happen without generous sponsors.
“So we are just so blessed in this city that people step forward to assist with these types of things. So Dryden Tourism, again, as I mentioned, has been really in from the very first day, and they’ve been a huge support. Our presenting sponsor is Dryden GM. Almost every event that you see in Dryden, Dryden GM is involved. They’re just always supporting our local youth, supporting local events, and so on. So we’re thrilled to have them as part of it. And then our after-party is presented by Co-op Propane, and so they’re a relatively new sponsor, but we’re super excited to have them as well. And there’s a long list of people that are supporting us. We’re grateful for everyone. All of that information is on our Facebook page, and I encourage people to go and look and see who’s actually backing this event, because it’s pretty impressive.”
Lisa highlights the ‘after-party’ entertainment.
“Really excited. Friday night we’ve got our local Bush Whiskey opening for Back 40 Entertainment, featuring Tim Albertson. So it’s going to be super fun. We’ve got beer gardens open all weekend, and there’s going to be a patio outside for in the evening in case things get too warm. And the food booths are going to be open the whole time that the after-party is on. So super excited about that. We have our local food booth, which is our Agricultural Society at the Fair. It’s called the Corn Booth, but we offer so much more than that, as well as Tortuga’s Smokehouse out of Manitoba is coming in for the event. So they offer a lot of really, really cool items as well.”
It’s going to be a fantastic two days, but you won’t be able to get there unless you get your tickets. Get them at https://drydenfair.ca/807-bulls-%26-barrels That leads us to another question, Lisa. Are there going to be any tickets available at the gate?
“Our plan is always to sell out. At this point, we still have tickets available. So there may be tickets at the gate if they’re not sold ahead of time. But the only way to ensure that you’re going to be there and be where the action is, is to get your tickets ahead of time. And those are available now. So go to our website, sign up for your ticket, invite your friends, and we’ll have a really good time. So I’ll run through the schedule a little bit with everyone as well. Friday, the event starts with the barrel racing at noon. The main gates open with our food vendors at four. Pre-show starts at 5.30. The actual performance will go from six till probably eight or 8.30, depending on the rides and depending how long it takes. And then the after party happens after that. We’re expecting 8.30, nine o’clock on Friday. Saturday, we have a really fun day planned. It’s more of a family day. So our gates open at noon with our food vendors. And we also have a vendor market with a lot of really cool vendors coming for that. At noon, we have a cowboy and crew meet and greet at the GM display. So you can meet some bull riders, meet some barrel racers, get some signatures, do those types of things. And then we also have a family day planned with a petting zoo, mini horse lessons, a bouncy castle, a full stream of entertainment on the stage for the day. And again, pre-show starts at 5.30. The event starts at six. And then the after party Saturday is not live music, but it will be just as fun. So something for everyone. We’re really hoping that the community comes out and supports this because we want it to be our first annual. So we’re hoping to continue this year after year.”
Final thoughts Lisa?
“Thank you again, Richard, for always supporting us and always giving us some time to get out the information. So I’m thankful for your station and the fact that you’re always willing to give us some airtime. Also, if you check our social media, we’re still looking for some more volunteers. So check on there, sign up through our link if you want to give us a little bit of time to help us run it. Again, thank you to all our sponsors and all the people that have signed up already. We’re really looking forward to the weekend and we couldn’t do that without the community support.”
Lisa Koshel is President of the Dryden & District Agricultural Society. A year and a half in the making – it’s 807 Bulls and Barrels coming to Dryden this weekend.
https://drydenfair.ca/807-bulls-%26-barrels
https://listen.streamon.fm/ckdr
