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Lakeside

Lakeside - Image by Sandy Huffaker, Jr.
Lakeside

It seems as if a hundred kids have been trying to sell you a program. Grudgingly, you finally buy one — not to read, but to carry around, hoping the annoyance will decrease. Now that you’ve ditched the high schoolers, your attention focuses on staying close to whomever you came with amidst the sea of bodies. As you circle the stadium, a plethora of smells approaches your nostrils, from cow dung and dirt to delicious barbecue. The bright midday sun temporarily blinds you, helping you realize you haven’t applied nearly enough sunscreen. You can hear the announcer over the intercom from three streets away: the proceedings are about to commence. The cowboys enter the arena, some to take on bulls ten times their size, some just to make the audience laugh. Saddle up your horses and tighten your belt buckles — you’re at the Lakeside Rodeo!

Huge crowds gather for this April weekend to see steers wrestled, broncs ridden, and cowboys trampled. You can’t live in Lakeside long without attending, and stories of gorings and top performances fill the streets like urban legends.

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Due largely to the publicity from the rodeo, Lakeside has a reputation of being just another old-fashioned country town inhabited by a bunch of tobacco-chewing, horse-riding, “sheep-luvin’ ” hicks, not to mention being racist, perverted, and generally ignorant. But although the rodeo might be the town’s main attraction, Lakeside has more to offer.

The majority of Lakeside’s large Catholic population gathers regularly at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, two blocks from El Capitan High School. Within a 200-yard radius of the sanctuary you can find yourself at Mapleview Baptist or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Every year the men from about 15 churches, from many denominations, gather for the Steak-Out, where they can share fellowship, eat good meat, and be men. Fragments of plastic knives often go flying as overly zealous (or overly muscular) gentlemen try to cut through their steaks only to find the knives too flimsy. The plastic tablecloth and squeaky folding chairs don’t deter them. A bundle of volunteers helps to keep the food hot and tasty, the music sharp and melodious, the message sharp and inspirational. Lakeside is more than just “Cow Pie High” and the rodeo. These men, along with their families, are out to make their community a better place.

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Lakeside - Image by Sandy Huffaker, Jr.
Lakeside

It seems as if a hundred kids have been trying to sell you a program. Grudgingly, you finally buy one — not to read, but to carry around, hoping the annoyance will decrease. Now that you’ve ditched the high schoolers, your attention focuses on staying close to whomever you came with amidst the sea of bodies. As you circle the stadium, a plethora of smells approaches your nostrils, from cow dung and dirt to delicious barbecue. The bright midday sun temporarily blinds you, helping you realize you haven’t applied nearly enough sunscreen. You can hear the announcer over the intercom from three streets away: the proceedings are about to commence. The cowboys enter the arena, some to take on bulls ten times their size, some just to make the audience laugh. Saddle up your horses and tighten your belt buckles — you’re at the Lakeside Rodeo!

Huge crowds gather for this April weekend to see steers wrestled, broncs ridden, and cowboys trampled. You can’t live in Lakeside long without attending, and stories of gorings and top performances fill the streets like urban legends.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Due largely to the publicity from the rodeo, Lakeside has a reputation of being just another old-fashioned country town inhabited by a bunch of tobacco-chewing, horse-riding, “sheep-luvin’ ” hicks, not to mention being racist, perverted, and generally ignorant. But although the rodeo might be the town’s main attraction, Lakeside has more to offer.

The majority of Lakeside’s large Catholic population gathers regularly at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, two blocks from El Capitan High School. Within a 200-yard radius of the sanctuary you can find yourself at Mapleview Baptist or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Every year the men from about 15 churches, from many denominations, gather for the Steak-Out, where they can share fellowship, eat good meat, and be men. Fragments of plastic knives often go flying as overly zealous (or overly muscular) gentlemen try to cut through their steaks only to find the knives too flimsy. The plastic tablecloth and squeaky folding chairs don’t deter them. A bundle of volunteers helps to keep the food hot and tasty, the music sharp and melodious, the message sharp and inspirational. Lakeside is more than just “Cow Pie High” and the rodeo. These men, along with their families, are out to make their community a better place.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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