The Fourth of July weekend means Makawao Parade and Rodeo on Maui. The two events are put on by separate groups of volunteers, but for decades they have each been crowd pleasers.
The 41st annual Parade will be held in downtown Makawao Saturday, July 1 at 9 a.m. The road is closed by 8:45 a.m. There is a free shuttle service from Oskie Rice Arena and people can also park at Eddie Tam Center.
This will be the 51st year for the rodeo, which is the largest in the state. There will be competitors from throughout Hawaii and the rodeo usually draws some contestants from the mainland as well.
Rodeo in Hawaii goes back as far as it does on the mainland, maybe farther. There have been some famous Hawaii cowboys, the most well know of which is Ikua Purdy, who was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. Purdy set a world record when he won the 1908 steer roping at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
Hawaii rodeo differs quite a bit from rodeo on the mainland.
The Makawao rodeo will have standard rodeo events like bareback bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, team roping and barrel racing, but it will also include events you only see in Hawaii.
Po‘o wai u is an event exclusive to Hawaii. In the old days when a paniolo needed to secure a renegade seer by himself he would toss his rope around the animal’s horns and tie it to the nearest tree.
In po‘o wai u, the action is more stylized, but the idea is the same. It is one of the timed events, with the fastest time winning.
The steer is released from a chute, then the paniolo gives chase on horseback. He throws his rope around the steer’s horns. The rope is tied to the saddle horn. The contestant leads the steer to a Y shaped post in the middle of the arena. He throws the rope into the Y and brings the steer to the post. The paniolo dismounts and ties the steer to the post, finishing the run.
There are also events for the women, including barrel racing, breakaway roping and steer undecorating.
For the men there are the rough stock events, where contestants try to stay aboard bucking horses and bulls and the timed events.
Rodeo is a celebration of the days when ranch hands got together to compete. Most events have their roots in ranch work, but some, like bull riding, are just insane events done for the fun of it.
There will be a special Bull Bash Friday night, June 30 at 7 p.m. Rodeo Action will take place Saturday and Sunday, July 1-2, starting at 1 p.m. at Oskie Rice Arena on Olinda Road.