STANNARD – The Stannard Economic Development Committee (SEDC), formed at town meeting in March, has launched its first initiative, the Stannard Stampede.
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The effort is designed not only to bring tourist revenue to the town, but also reduce the cost of maintaining the Stannard Community Church lawn and protect the historic building from damage.
The stampede, scheduled daily for seven days, from Saturday, Sept. 19, to Saturday, Sept. 26, with Sunday off, coinciding with foliage season, will begin each day with bulls released on Stannard Mountain Road at its intersection with Hutchins Farm Road. Numbered bulls, by then well-grown, will head east on Stannard Mountain Road, finishing at its intersection with Sherburne Road and Wolf Den Road.
Along the way, visitors lining the road and wielding banderillas, the colorful, barbed darts used in Spanish bullfighting, and red capes, will direct their chosen bull in the correct direction.
For an entry fee of $25, each contestant will receive a quiver of five banderillas and a red cape when they choose their bull. Those picking the winning bill will split half the proceeds from that day. The remainder will cover the cost of keeping the bulls and upkeep of the church.
SEDC members expect 2,000 to 2,500 contestants daily and a total of roughly one million spectators over the course of the eight day event, similar to the crowds at Pamplona, Spain’s annual Running of the Bulls in July. Prizes totaling $175,000 will be awarded. Additionally, up to 10 food trucks will pay $250 daily for a spot in the town lot next to the church.
A dozen yearling bulls have been ordered for delivery in mid-April to be kept on the lawn around the church where SEDC volunteers expect to begin building a fence to contain the animals April 1.
The grazing animals will keep the lawn low and their excrement will provide a deterrent to vandals while pastured across from the town hall.
While a yearling bull can cost $5,000, and the annual cost of feed and veterinary bills can reach $1,000 per animal, amounting to just $60,000 for the dozen bulls in the first year, income of at least $150,000 will earn $90,000 for the town coffers after the purchase and care of the bulls.
