Davis Cattle Company Arena on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road will be hopping next week with the After the Storm Coming Together concert July 14 and the Chas B. Davis Memorial PRCA RAM Rodeo Series July 15-16. Both events will support the replacement of Ringgold High School athletic and band equipment wiped out by the April 27 tornado.
Josh Turner performs in concert."After the tornado, I went over to Ringgold High School and everything was destroyed," said arena owner Chuck Gass. "All of the school athletic and band equipment was bought by children selling candy. The insurance and FEMA money will fix the school, but not athletic and band equipment. Money will need to be raised to replace it."
The concert will feature country singer Josh Turner and begins at 7:30 p.m. in a field next to Davis Cattle Company Arena.
"Josh Turner concerts are an elaborate production," said Gass, adding that Turner's crew will bring his full tour show to Ringgold that night. "I know in my 45 years in Ringgold there has never been anything like this here before."
He said the concert will be a smoke- and alcohol-free family atmosphere and that people should bring lawn chairs and blankets.
The rodeo series taking the stage the next day is in its 16th year. Gates open at 6 p.m. both nights.
"We have a good crowd and it's a lot of fun. Rodeos are very entertaining," Gass said.
He said a rodeo clown, trick ropers, barrel racers and professional cowboys riding bulls will keep audience members on their toes. The rodeo is also a family-friendly environment, he said.
One hundred percent of proceeds from both events will go to the school.
"About 95 percent of students at Ringgold High School are involved in athletics and band," said Gass. "They need to be able to go out and do what they do and not worry about having a field to play on or an instrument to play. We want to take the stress off them, so they don't have to worry."