Casa Grande cancels annual O'Odham Tash, Cowboys Days event

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — The pandemic has prompted Casa Grande to cancel the south-central Arizona’s city’s annual event celebrating Native American culture and the spirit of the American cowboy.

City Manager Larry Rains said the O’Odham Tash and Cowboy Days event scheduled for February were canceled because of the pandemic “and the preferences and wishes of our neighboring Native American communities,” the Casa Grande Dispatch reported.

Although the city won’t be involved, a carnival and some other events may still take place during the event’s normal 10-day timeframe, the city’s announcement said.

The 2021 event also was canceled because of the pandemic.

Casa Grande has celebrated O’Odham Tash almost every year for over 50 years, traditionally including a parade, social powwows, an arts and crafts show and an all-Indian rodeo.

Casa Grande Cowboy Days started in 2011 and typically includes a parade and a rodeo.

The two events were combined in 2012.

Arizona’s seven-day rolling average of daily new COVID-19 cases rose over the past two weeks from 7,017.1 on Jan. 3 to 20,016.3 on Jan. 17, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Virus-related hospitalizations statewide rose for the sixth straight day, with 3,276 COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient beds as of Jan. 18, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — The pandemic has prompted Casa Grande to cancel the south-central Arizona’s city’s annual event celebrating Native American culture and the spirit of the American cowboy.

City Manager Larry Rains said the O’Odham Tash and Cowboy Days event scheduled for February were canceled because of the pandemic “and the preferences and wishes of our neighboring Native American communities,” the Casa Grande Dispatch reported.

Although the city won’t be involved, a carnival and some other events may still take place during the event’s normal 10-day timeframe, the city’s announcement said.

The 2021 event also was canceled because of the pandemic.

Casa Grande has celebrated O’Odham Tash almost every year for over 50 years, traditionally including a parade, social powwows, an arts and crafts show and an all-Indian rodeo.

Casa Grande Cowboy Days started in 2011 and typically includes a parade and a rodeo.

The two events were combined in 2012.

Arizona’s seven-day rolling average of daily new COVID-19 cases rose over the past two weeks from 7,017.1 on Jan. 3 to 20,016.3 on Jan. 17, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Virus-related hospitalizations statewide rose for the sixth straight day, with 3,276 COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient beds as of Jan. 18, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.