Celebrities for a Cause is set to return for its third annual weekend of thrill and excitement in Park County with festivities kicking off in Cody.

The weekend will kick off early at the Nite Rodeo in Cody on Thursday with a meet and greet of the celebrities during a special concert before the rodeo featuring longtime Wyoming country artist Bobby Chitwood alongside Montana native and country singer Jonah Prill.

Starting out the festivities on Friday will be a golf tournament at Olive Glenn Golf Course in Cody, which will be followed by a banquet dinner at Riley Arena that is set to start at 6:30 p.m. with special guest speakers.

This year’s event will be fundraising and donating all proceeds from the weekend to Park County Special Olympics and Special Olympics Wyoming.

“Last year at the rec center in Cody, the Special Olympics asked us if they could come over and do all their events at the rec center,” event organizer Ryan Brown said. “There’s nothing better than watching those guys. I’d rather watch them than professional sports. They are out there, love the game, love what they are doing and having fun.”

During that event the Triton Tough Award will be given to Northwest College wrestlers Kendell Cummings and Brady Lowry after they were mauled by a grizzly bear and survived this past fall.

The Triton Tough award was named after 10-year-old Triton Fritz who passed away from cancer just months after the inaugural Celebrities for a Cause in 2021.

The weekend caps off on Saturday, starting with a free football camp at Cody High School.

That camp will feature NFL Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson and Powell native Chris Cooley among other former NFL players and coaches.

Check in starts at 8 a.m. with a session to follow 9 a.m.-noon. After lunch, a second session runs from 1-3 p.m. — you can pre-register for the camp at hopethroughfootball.org.

In the evening on Saturday the festivities kick off with a basketball game at 5:30 p.m. in Cabre Gym at Northwest College with teams made up of Special Olympians.

Following that will be a celebrity basketball game scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. that will feature a matchup between Team Wyoming and Team Celebrities.

Team Wyoming will be made up of all former University of Wyoming athletes, including former Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball players such as Brandon Ewing, Adam Waddell, Tommi Olsen, Kayla Martinez, Luke Martinez, Aubrey Vandiver and Paige Toomer.

Team Celebrities will feature former NBA player Jumaine Jones, former MLB player Mike Lansing, world champion kickboxer Fredia “The Cheetah” Gibbs among other former athletes and celebrities.

“It’s going to be pretty fun,” Brown said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet these guys — these guys love giving back and it’s a great opportunity for these guys to give back.”

Events for the night will be $20 each with VIP tickets $100. The VIP tickets will include VIP seats alongside food and drinks throughout the event.

The night will include raffle contests, a silent auction, beer garden, concessions along with autograph opportunities available with the celebrities.

Those wishing to purchase tickets for events and find out more information about events or donate to Special Olympics can visit celebritiesforacausewyo.org.