Old Fort Days Rodeo
The Old Fort Days Rodeo is one of the most enduring traditions in Fort Smith — an annual professional rodeo held during Memorial Day week at Kay Rodgers Park, with roots reaching back more than 90 years. It celebrates the cowboy culture and Western heritage of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border country, and it remains one of the region’s biggest yearly events.
Origins
Fort Smith’s rodeo tradition began in 1933, when the city’s first rodeo was held at Andrews Field near the Arkansas River downtown. Billed as the “Pawnee Bill Rodeo” and featuring the famous Wild West showman Pawnee Bill of Pawnee, Oklahoma, the event charged 65 cents admission and drew a strong crowd. In 1934, R.K. “Kay” Rodgers became the rodeo’s first chairman, a role he held for years.
In 1942, Rodgers and Bert Harper led the purchase of the old OG&E Electric Park grounds on Midland Boulevard — the showgrounds that would later be named Kay Rodgers Park in his honor, and that remain the rodeo’s home today.
The rodeo today
Old Fort Days runs during Memorial Day week each year, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), drawing competitors from across the country. A typical program includes the classic events — bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback riding, steer wrestling, tie-down and team roping, barrel racing, and breakaway roping — plus crowd favorites like mutton bustin’ for the youngest riders.
The week wraps community events around the competition: patriotic and veterans’ tributes fitting the Memorial Day timing, family nights, live music, and midway attractions. Kay Rodgers Park also hosts the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair each fall (see annual festivals and events).
Cultural significance
The rodeo connects Fort Smith to its frontier roots — the same border-country heritage preserved at the Fort Smith National Historic Site and celebrated across the city’s events calendar. For many area families it is a generational tradition: grandparents who watched from the Kay Rodgers grandstands now bring their own grandchildren.
FAQ
When was the first Old Fort Days Rodeo held? The city’s rodeo tradition began in 1933 at Andrews Field with the “Pawnee Bill Rodeo.” The event grew into today’s Old Fort Days Rodeo.
Where is the rodeo held? Kay Rodgers Park on Midland Boulevard in Fort Smith, during Memorial Day week each year.
Is it professionally sanctioned? Yes — by the PRCA and WPRA, drawing professional competitors from across the region and country.