Bus Roadeo Toolkit

Food, Entertainment, and Awards

Attendees include drivers, judges, volunteers, guests, and others. Knowing the expected number of participants will help determine the amount of food and beverages needed, as well as seating, tables, portable toilets, and other logistical items.

There are several options for providing food, such as offering bag lunches, hosting a barbecue, or inviting/contracting with food truck vendors. Be sure to have plenty of water on hand, especially if warm or sunny weather is expected. It can get very hot on the course during the event. Determine in advance whether you will provide breakfast and lunch. In some cases, roadeos are held during conferences, allowing food and beverages to be incorporated into the conference offerings. These conferences often also include an awards dinner. 

Beyond the first-place winners, you may want to offer additional awards for the second and third place, best time, rookie award, youngest driver, or perfect score on predetermined difficult obstacles. 

Decide on the type of awards you will present, such as plaques, trophies, printed certificates, etc. Obtain the awards before the roadeo, so they can be presented during the awards ceremony. Updated information included on the award after the event. Paper awards could be printed at the event. A traveling trophy might be an appealing option.

Example: Indiana Paratransit Roadeo Traveling Trophy 

This is a large trophy with a vehicle on top and space for name plates to be added. Each year, it is brought to the event and displayed with past roadeo winners recognized by their name plates. The winner gets to take the trophy back to their agency for display until the following year. Each new plate should include the names of the winners, their agency, and the year of the roadeo event. These plates are added to the trophy. Be sure to consider how the trophy will be tracked and maintained for use on future roadeo events.

Determine what you want to do for the awards ceremony. If it is a standalone event, the awards ceremony could happen after lunch. At a regional conference, an awards dinner could be held.

Updated August 10, 2026