A dog and pony show coming to the Blackhawk Arena over Memorial Day weekend promises to be an event everyone should plan on staying in town for. The show is organized by Tammy Black, who runs the non-profit as a benefit for local women’s shelters and animal shelters. She has previous experience as a canine handler for the Department of Public Safety and offers a discount to Barrel Racing entrants with the donation of a bag of dog food, treats, or other canine necessities. In addition to supporting local animal shelters, all monetary profits/proceeds from the weekend will go to the local women’s shelter.
“This is a cool thing to be a part of and I’m just tickled to have them coming here,” said Jake Van, Blackhawk manager. “I speculate easily 6-700 entrants in the event and there will be people in town from all over Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and possibly even Arizona.”
Friday, May 26 the participants will get their horses used to the arena, flag, music, lights, etc., then Saturday they’ll run Barrel Races until noon, when a mock trial of a canine recovery is highlighted in the center of the arena.
“It’s really cool,” said Van. “At high noon a cop car comes in to ‘chase’ another vehicle with a suspect in it. They let the dog out and it jumps in and drags the ‘suspect’ out. It’s what they’ve trained for, and it’s really a neat thing to be a part of. The kids love to come watch.”
Entrance to the dog and pony show is free to spectators, although dog food/toys/treats are always welcome by donation, and that evening, Friday, May 27, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a concert by Cole Hartley, who opened for the Wayne Hoskins Band at the Blackhawk on New Year’s Eve. There will be food and drinks by Juanita at Street Eatz and admission to the concert will be at the entrance for a small charge.
“The bands we work with love to come and perform in Salina,” said Chamber President Carol Lowman. “They say people here enjoy having a good time without a riot, and as a general rule, concert-goers are polite and a great audience! We hope everyone will come have a good time not only at the dog and pony show, but stay for the concert as well.”
Plan to spend Memorial Day weekend in town and support the barrel racers, the great food and concessions at the Blackhawk, and a good time at the Cole Hartley concert.
