The 18th annual Lilesville World Championship Rodeo was held July 9 and 10 at the Circle G Arena.

A crowd of hundreds was treated to fireworks, clogging, dances, a live band and other activities on Friday. Booths sold a variety of food and drinks while there was a moon bounce and mechanical bull for the crowd's amusement.

The air was warm Friday and there was a carnival-like atmosphere. Many in the crowd dressed the part, wearing cowboy hats or boots.

"We came to watch the clown," Angie James, of Rockingham, said. She came with her husband and two children.

John Reid of Weddington brought his daughter and one of her friends. The last time he visited the rodeo was about five years ago.

"She's a big horse fan," he said of his daughter. The two girls jumped on the moon bounce before the rodeo began.

Bleachers circled the arena while some people sat closer to the fence in lawn chairs or on towels and blankets.

Riders paraded in the arena with flags from the states of North and South Carolina, along with a Confederate flag and an American flag.

After a prayer and the national anthem, the action got underway.

One event was steer wrestling, or bulldogging, where a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, leaps from his horse and then forces it to the ground. Riders who failed to do so before the steer reached the other end of the arena were disqualified from any prize money.

There were also bronco and bull riders.

Between events or even competitors, the announcer and a rodeo clown helped keep people entertained. The patter was often family friendly with a hint of vaudeville to the proceedings.

People from all over the region came to the event.