The Wildrose Rodeo Dance has been around for about 25 years. It is as much a tradition as the rodeo itself, a Saturday night social when cowboys kick up their heels, dance and drink. It is also a $6,000 money-earner.
Now the music has died and the dancing become a memory after organizers scrapped this year’s party because they were unable to hold it in the Curling Rink, its historic home.
The rink has a legal capacity of 149 people: a higher number would breach fire safety rules.
The Barrhead Agricultural Society, however, says the rink has been licensed in the past for up to 400 dancegoers, the usual attendance number.
Ag Society president Adolph Bablitz said there was a mood of frustration on the board over the licensing restriction.
It had reached the point where members were wondering whether it was worth Barrhead bidding for a future rodeo, he said.
The town is in the second year of a three-year contract to stage the prestigious four-day Agrena event which pulls in cowboys and cowgirls from all over the area. Whitecourt and Drayton Valley are reportedly interested in hosting the rodeo.
“We are very disappointed,” said Ag Society president Adolph Bablitz last Wednesday. “The dance is the only way we can get the whole community involved. We have had a dance every year.”
Historically the dance was a major society fundraiser, with 400 people paying a $15 entrance fee, said Bablitz.
“It usually gets us $6,000,” he added. “There is no way we can make up for that shortfall. The only saving will be on not having a live band.”
Bablitz said the Ag Society had been presented with the option of paying half the cost of a $40,000 alarm system at the rink. But this had been ruled out.
“We would be $20,000 out of pocket, instead of $6,000,” he said.
The idea of holding the event in the Seniors’ Drop-in Centre had also been raised, but this was unrealistic, said Bablitz. The centre would not want such a party, with liquor being sold, on its premises.
Bablitz said the issue may be raised with Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Maureen Kubinec to see whether anything could be resolved for next year.
Barrhead Mayor Brian Schulz said the town council’s hands were tied, given the Fire Chief’s recommendation.
He said the Ag Society was free to look for another suitable venue for the dance, be it a community hall, local school or some other facility.
Fire Chief John Whittaker said dance organizers had been deviating from the 2006 Fire Code by staging their event at the Curling Rink, which was only authorized to hold up to 149 people.
The matter had been raised before, but now it was felt that “enough was enough,” he said.
Whittaker accepted previous Fire Chiefs may have taken a different approach.
“We are not willing to take that same risk,” he said. “The code is there for a reason, it is there for public protection and we intend enforcing it.”
Whittaker said the Fire Department had tried working with the Ag Society to resolve the issue.
It had been proposed that the society rent an alarm system for the event – something that would cost a lot less than buying one.
It had also been suggested that the dance be held at alternative venues.
“However, they weren’t willing to move from where they were,” he said. “It was the Curling Rink or not at all. That was the option they chose.”
Whittaker said his department’s position was that 400 people should not be crammed into a building if there were any fire concerns. Public safety was paramount.
In March, Bablitz and Ag Society members Laurie Messmer, Ken Anderson and Lynn Down appealed to the Town Council over the rodeo dance licensing dilemma.
Bablitz told the council restricting the number of dance attendees to 149 was not financially viable.
He questioned whether opening a bolted door at the back of the Curling Rink would provide extra access to the building and free up licensing restrictions.
Bablitz said the dance had been licensed for up to 400 people in the past. Over the years the danger of fire had been reduced as fewer and fewer people smoked, he argued.
The council asked whether the Seniors’ Drop-in Centre could accommodate the rodeo dance and was the told the centre was not large enough.
The council agreed that town administrators should raise the matter with the Fire Chief.
