Rooster Days kicks off 94th year in Broken Arrow

Rooster Days kicked off its 94th year in Broken Arrow Thursday night.

The event has more than 100 vendors, rides, and a parade.

People were already out having fun while the Broken Arrow Police had a plan to keep everyone safe.

Having fun

Makayla West and her family were some of the first people through the gates when Rooster Days kicked off its first night.

"Like a mini fair before the fair. Food, rides. My kids love stuffed animals," said Makayla.

But she also came for a special occasion.  

"It's my son's birthday. So we came out really quick, you know, just nice little celebration," she said.

Keeping everyone safe

Broken Arrow Police say they are ready to make sure families like Makayla's are safe. The police department plans for a big event like this one and has been working on it for the past year. 

"There's a lot of planning behind the scenes that go into this, a lot of meetings and discussion about the safety of everybody that's going to be here at the facilities," said Captain Daniel Hurst. He says they can monitor the event from their command post using cameras and drones.

They also have officers walking around and riding bicycles and in side-by-sides. He said that's what allowed them to respond so quickly when there was a shooting near the festival last year.

"That event, we actually handled very well. Our officer, who was on a bicycle, was the first one to arrive on scene, was able to secure that scene, and our officers promptly arrived there," he said.

Makayla said they feel safe here.

"I usually function during the daytime, so I'm not really worried about a lot of that stuff. And usually out here, everything is under control pretty quickly," she said.

The Rooster Days Parade is Saturday morning at 10. The festival will wrap up on Sunday.

Related: 5 things to know before heading to Rooster Days 2025