KUNA, Idaho — After a more than 70 year hiatus, the City of Kuna Rodeo will be returning for the first time since the late 1940s, thanks to help from a local couple.
Kuna residents, Lini and Cody Chytka, volunteered their 25 acre lot to host the upcoming rodeo.
Before the Chytka's acquired the land, it was just a metal shop; in the last year, the Chytkas have created everything from a full bar to a stage that hosts local musicians and community concerts.
"It actually kind of started with this table really, a friend of ours donated it from his shop and we started hanging out in here, and we were hanging out in here one night when Cody had the idea to start having concerts," Lini Chytka said, "he just came home and said you're not going to believe this, Kuna wants to host a rodeo and they want to host it here."
The Kuna City Council ended up approving $50,000 in seed money and finalized the deal with the Chytka family through a handshake.
The rodeo is scheduled for September 2nd and 3rd at the family's arena. Nearly 3,000 attendees are expected to show up to the rodeo, along with dozens of competitors.
"My parents just said, 'oh yeah the city wanted us to do a rodeo at our house, so we are going to start building that,' and I was like, 'what?'," said Payton Siebke, the Chytkas' daughter.
More than 50 local vendors will be in attendance, including food vendors and a petting zoo. There will also be live music and fireworks.
"I want it to be a good positive event for everybody, I'm nervous about getting too busy," Lini said. "I'm nervous about not being busy enough."
After decades of not having a rodeo, efforts to make this year's rodeo a success are underway. Tickets are on sale now for $20.
"You know we have to have everything set up so we can make it successful," Cody said. "Hopefully everybody bears with us. We are not going to be perfect but we are going to try."
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