Bickleton's 99th Pioneer Picnic And Rodeo will be held June 12-13 &14, 2009 at the rodeo and picnic grounds in Cleveland. Cleveland is about four miles west of Bickleton. Week-end features and activities include RV camping, Cowboy breakfasts,  one of the oldest carousels on the west coast, Saturday night dance and good food including home made pies. All of this and the professional rodeo on Saturday and Sunday.

Many former area residents come home on this week-end to enjoy and participate.  Other people come from near and far to take part. Local ranchers provide the rodeo stock and local cowboys attempt to rope or ride them. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Either way the spectators enjoy the action.  It costs $7.00 to watch the rodeo and is a bargain.

You may get involved yourself and go for a fifty cent ride on the carousel. It is a 1905 Herschell-Spillman and is said to be one of only three of its type  still in operation. It was purchased from Portland's Oaks Park in 1929 and brought to Bickleton. All of the ponies are safely stored most of the year and are only brought out for this one week-end. They are in the slow process of being restored. Oh - and your age doesn't matter. There will be riders so young they need to be held on to riders so old they need to be held on and every age between.                                                                                                                      

If you get to feeling brave, sign up to ride one of Kelly Bowcutt's bulls in the rodeo. They only work eight seconds a week-end and lay around the pasture in Roosevelt the rest of the time getting fat and lazy. Most of them don't even get to work their full eight seconds. Just be sure you are mobile and agile.

Cowboy breakfast is served at 7 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday There are food concessions with the usual food for this type of event. Top off you lunch with home made pie and ice cream. There are always several varieties of pie available and the servings and the price is fair.

RV camping is "dry camping" only. There are no hook ups available. The cost is just $10.00 for the week-end. Arrive early - the price is the same if you arrive on Saturday or Monday. No reservations are needed or made. 

If there is a better or friendlier place to be on 14 - 15 June 2008, I don't know where it is.