Lots planned for Elkhorn Western Weekend this weekend!
July 28, 2025, 9:43 am
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Hold on to your cowboy hats, the best way to mark an August long weekend in Elkhorn is coming to town!
The 11th annual Western Weekend hosted by the Elkhorn Elks runs Friday through Sunday, and it’s going to be another big deal!
“It really is an entire weekend,” said Kevin Tuthill, co-organizer of the event. “We’ve tried to fit so many things in for so many different people.
We’ve got kids activities, bouncy castles, beer gardens and the slo-pitch—we try to cover as many ages as we can.”
The Manitoba Pro Chariot and Chuckwagon Races kick off Friday night starting at 7 pm with the live Calcutta auction to follow.
“Last year was our first year for the live Calcutta, and it went over really big,” Tuthill said. “The horses run Friday night, and that’s how we make up the team—take the fastest horse and the slowest horse and they are Team A, second fastest and second slowest and they are Team B, third and third…. those get auctioned off, and 100 per cent of that money goes back and is split between the horse teams and the buyers. So none of that goes to the Elks. It’s some extra money for the horses, and they really appreciated it last year.”
Also returning this year is the popular Cornhole Tournament, which made its official debut during last year’s Western Weekend, with at least 12 teams registered so far.
“The Cornhole Tournament last year was our first for that, and it was huge, so we’ve got that going again this year,” Tuthill said, adding that barrel racing is also coming back to this year’s weekend. “They’re coming back again this year, so that’s good for a lot of people.”
The Barrel Racing will begin Saturday afternoon at 1 pm, followed by the chuckwagons at 4 and 7 pm, then Sunday chucks running at 1 and 4 pm.
“I’m probably not lying to you if I say at race time there is probably 500-plus people on the grounds at a time,” Tuthill said. “It really is a big draw for the weekend, and we almost don’t sell any day passes—it’s almost all weekend (passes) so people can come and go.”
Aside from all the high-flying action of thundering hooves, there’s quite the musical line-up for Western Weekend. Friday night features popular DJ Look Music, then the Clubbing Fraggles will bring their party-band stylings to Saturday night. Sunday belongs to the multi-instrumentalist troubadour Lyle Baldwin, playing country classics.
While the Western Weekend is put on by the Elkhorn Elks, Tuthill stressed that many community groups come together to make the event a success every year.
“We try and get as many community groups involved as we can so that the money is split up amongst the entire community,” he explained, giving examples of local figure skaters assisting with post-event clean-up, the skating rink hosting a slo-pitch tournament, and the golf course working the door. “We split it up amongst as many groups as we can. By involving all the other groups and giving them as much money as we can, it helps everybody.”
Attracting competitors to attend the Elkhorn event is another big task, especially after the busy ‘Cowboy Christmas’ season in early July. However, with $14,000 in prize money for the horses, it’s nothing to sneeze at.
“Every year that’s our goal, we try to make sure that the past year covers this year’s money for the horses, for them to come,” Tuthill said, adding that teams hail from around Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota. “It’s not cheap for them guys to be on the road for the weekend, and lots of them do it every weekend.”
As a service club, the Elkhorn Elks have around 50 members, and more are always welcome.
“We’re always looking for members,” Tuthill said. “We cover a lot of ages. We have members from 21 to 97, and everybody that can does what they can.”
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