The Rodeo Chuck Wagon

By Meg Wall-Wild

Get ready to let that tooled belt out a notch! The 2023 Fortuna Rodeo blazes a trail of great grub from Main Street to Rohner Park. The smell of chili gets Fortuna salivating. Some ranch hands are already mentally in line for a CattleWomen’s tri-tip sandwich (you know who you are). Whether you want to boost the Boosters or need gastronomic support from the Ladies Auxiliary, they’re ready for you. The Native Sons of the Golden West’s o erings are best washed down with a cold beer from Eel River Brewery. The deep pit shovels are sharp and ready to dig in the name of barbecue. And you can help the Kiwanis supply school children with backpacks full of pencils and potential by eating your way through a stack of pancakes.

Taps start at 6 p.m. on Friday night, and at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Humboldt Beer Distributors Day at the Rodeo. Stop by and honor your thirst with a refreshing brew.

Spoons are waiting with great anticipation for the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce Chili Cook-o on Monday, July 10, sponsored by Redwood Capital Bank. Bring your family’s hungry bellies to Main

Street between Ninth and 12th streets for free samples. Chili slinging begins at 5 p.m., when voting tickets go on sale. Vote early, vote often: two for $1, five for $2 and 30 for $10 (cash only, please). Will Fortuna’s Best Wycko ’s Plumbing run away with the trophy or get corralled by Fortuna’s Best Beef Big R’s BBQ? Can Bear River Casino pull o another two-fer of People’s Choice and Best Professional? Only your tastebuds will tell. New this year are food trucks on hand to satisfy a hunger beyond chili and a ra e with a top prize of a cord of wood, courtesy of Mendocino Humboldt Redwood Companies. Musician Ryan Rice will entertain as you dance from booth to decorated booth, courtesy of Recology. Be sure to get a good spot near the clock for the 6:30 p.m. awards ceremony to see who aced the spices. Check fortunachamber. com for more information.

Fortuna’s nonprofits feed the rodeo from Friday, July 14, to Sunday, July 16. It’s a good thing the rodeo chuckwagon runs for several days so you can taste it all! The Ladies Auxiliary has brought the beef. Who can pass up a juicy hamburger on a fresh bun with all the fixins?

When your herd complains of rum- blings, drive them to the Humboldt County CattleWomen, whose legendary tri-tip sandwich of sweet meat in delicate layers just begs to be savored. The Native Sons of the Golden West make a mean brat. Don’t forget the sauerkraut! Have some Fortuna Boosters oysters before circling back for burritos. Grazing from all stands is encouraged! These nonprofits work hard to benefit Fortuna so spread your tin around. Don’t forget to make the kids happy with some smooth 4H ice cream. There may be some last-minute changes to the menus, so keep your peepers peeled!

You thought you could walk past the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, July 15, without answering the siren call of the griddle. The song of spatulas slapping hot metal makes you smile as the smell of pancakes tickles your nose. Entranced by a stack of cakes with rivulets of amber syrup and melting butter sparkling in the morning sun, you get roped in and happy for it! What better way to support your community than to throw yourself onto that warm stack of flapjacks made fresh by smiling volunteers? A hot cup of joe washes down the sweetness. The kids slurp down milk before polishing o their own plates of cakes. Feed the family and help Fortuna for just $8 adults, $5 for children 7 and under. Make it to the Rohner Park Cook Shed between 7 and 11 a.m. Arrive late and the only sound you hear will be satisfied sighs of well-fed cowpokes.

Some artists capture splendor using paint or sculpt beauty from raw clay. During the Fortuna Rodeo, the true artists work in beef for the revered Deep Pit Barbecue served up on Sunday, July 16. Specialized crews tend the meat from pre-pit to the plate. Pacific Pastures Grass Fed Beef is seasoned to perfection at the Fortuna Fire Hall as the pit is prepared for its early hour interment. The flames await!

At 10 a.m., some 4,000 pounds of meat is revealed with fanfare to receive its due adulation. All hail the artists of the pit! No weathered range rider would forget the rib-sticking, hunger-taming, tonguetantalizing beans. Grab a roll for that last bit of sauce because it isn’t polite to lick your plate in public. Buy your ticket online or get there early. Although they make gallons of potato salad, don’t be a slow poke or you will be left with an empty plate and a hangdog look. Serving stops at 1 p.m. or earlier if the vittles run out. ✪