Chamber of Commerce inducts Karen West, Rich Fiutko into Rodeo Legends as ticket sales continue strong
Through the years, it has always been a much-recognized honor to be named a Grand Marshal of the Folsom Pro Rodeo. This year, the Folsom Chamber of Commerce has named Kris Keables, who has been part of the event for decades as the 2023 Grand Marshal of the event.
“I am thrilled to be the grand marshal at one of the best and most fun Folsom events, the Folsom Pro Rodeo.” said Keables, who moved to Folsom in 1986. “I look forward to being in the grand entry, maybe event on horseback, and seeing a capacity filled arena celebrating our American heritage.”
Keables has been part of the Folsom Pro Rodeo for over 30-years now. He contribution to the event began back when she was the local newspaper editor and covered the event prior to its arrival and during its stint over several days.
Through the years, Keables has served many roles when it comes to the iconic event that always surrounds Independence Day in the city. From providing content to the local media, and helping with the event program in the days leading up to the event.
During the multi-day run of the rodeo, Keables has juggled numerous duties, from coordinating the mutton busters, managing local photography requests to booking acts and her biggest task, managing ticket sales during the event to make sure attendees get to their proper seats and other various duties.
“She is our self-proclaimed ticket queen,” said Folsom Chamber of Commerce CEO Joe Gagliardi as he made the announcement during the recent Community Business Awards and passed the title to Keables along with reigning Grand Marshal and longtime Rodeo announcer Adam Frick.
“Being a Cal Poly graduate, she has always known a thing or two about livestock and she has been a true asset to the Folsom Pro Rodeo,” added Gagliardi. “She has taken on many tough tasks, always injected her sense of humor while doing so. It’s our pleasure to induct Kris as our 2023 Grand Marshal.”
Miles, Fiutko inducted into Folsom Pro Rodeo Legends
Along with the announcement of Keables as the 2023 Grand Marshal, Gagliardi named two longtime volunteers of the Folsom Pro Rodeo into the rank of Rodeo Legends. This year, Karen Miles West and Rich Fiutko were the latest inductees.
Miles West served as the Rodeo Grand Marshal back in 2016 and has volunteered at the event for the last 15 years and served as Chamber Ambassador for 13 years. The Folsom Pro Rodeo is so important to Miles, each year she schedules her vacation time around its dates to help out with it, running numerous errands and managing the busy lower admission gates each year.
Fiutko has worked on the rodeo for over 22 years and is a former member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Each year Fiutko he has been responsible for the construction of the saloon and the bar. He also assists with coordinating approvals by the Folsom Fire Department and Health Department for event and its vendors in addition to helping to prepare the arena for competition.
As previously reported, tickets are already on sale and selling strong for the 2023 Folsom Pro Rodeo are already selling strong for the event that runs July 1,2 an
General admission tickets start at $29 for each night. Reserved seating tickets are $39 and corral seating tickets are $59. You can also purchase a family four pack of general admission tickets for $100.
The Folsom Pro Rodeo urges those seeking tickets to beware of third- party resellers that are selling them for inflated prices.
“When you search on google there are other outlets that have tickets available they can show up from other third party ticket sellers,” explained Jennifer Cliff, Vice President of Marketing for Choose Folsom. “These tickets are not fraudulent per se but they are marked up considerably.”
Tickets can be purchased online, directly from the event or by calling 916-985-2698.
Watch for more news to come about the Folsom Pro Rodeo as the event grows closer, including a special Rodeo Edition of local Style Magazine that is due in the weeks prior to the event from our friends at Style Media Group and much more. You can also follow the Folsom Pro Rodeo on all social media platforms to keep up with all of the great events coming in 2023.