Saturday, March 1 – Today starts one of the most exciting times of the year here in Houston…The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Early Saturday morning, we parked at our daughter's apartment and walked the short distance (about a mile) to the parade route. The place was packed! The kickoff event is the the 27th annual ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run. There were more than 13,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair race participants. There is a 10K, 5K, and wheelchair race and costume contest. The runners came right down the parade route. What a cool idea. Of course the crowds cheered them on and applauded their effort. There were 1000's of runners literally filling the street. We arrived about 10 a.m. to catch the end of the 10 and 5K run.
They came in all shapes, sizes and dress.
Lots of kids, too.
Soon after the last runners past by, the celebration of Western heritage began...The Downtown Rodeo Parade. We had arrived early and had selected a nice spot for viewing the parade. Well, that didn't last. Soon the late arrivals showed-up and squeezed in, forcing us to move to the back row. JEESH! We found another good spot by a tree that worked out super.
The majority of the parade entrants are the Trail Riders. Many of these horseback riders have rode to Houston from all over Texas. There were 100's of horses and riders in the parade.
Of course, the politicians showed up. They were either riding or in horse drawn carriages.
There were numerous floats and of course bands. We were especially impressed with the University of Houston band. It was huge!
U of H Band
These gals stood the entire time we watched them. They were with a drill team.
This little girl in front of us was so darn cute. She would get so excited about every thing that was coming down the road. She must have taken a couple of hundred photos just in the first hour of the parade.
We had a wonderful time and would recommend the Houston Rodeo Parade. From the parade, we headed to the Rodeo at the Reliant Center, the Houston Texan Football Stadium, for the Barbeque Cook-off. We'll tell you all about that experience in our next post.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
Looks like you saw a neat parade, much better than sitting at home watching OU play IU. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun time. I enjoy parades, John...not so much. So we don't do many parades. Definitely a horse town for sure!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you guys really got to see a great parade. With the size of Houston i'm sure there was nothing small about the parade either.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
How fantastic!!! I have never experienced a "real" rodeo!!! Something I definitely look forward to experiencing. They really do things up right with a terrific parade!! Cute costumes :-)
ReplyDeleteHaven't been to a parade in ages ... thanks for the virtual one.
ReplyDeleteYou sure like you're having too much fun there, thanks for the parade!
ReplyDeleteHow fun that would be! Rodeos are fun and so are parades.
ReplyDeleteMy step-daughter and her husband graduated from University of Houston. Their oldest daughter is a Junior there now. Our son-in-law was actually the Drum Major of that band back then. He is now Band Director of a HS band outside Houston - Pearland. Used to be band director of Clear Lake HS, When our granddaughter graduated from there it was the 2nd largest graduating class in Tx. Almost 900.
ReplyDeleteOn our way here to Fort Worth a 3 weeks ago we saw what looked to be a covered wagon pulled by a horse team with other riding alongside. Betcha they were getting prepared for that parade.
Great looking parade - reminded me of the Calgary Stampede.
ReplyDeleteSounds fun....and crowded. Paul's a big guy, he should have pushed the late comers out of the way.
ReplyDeleteAny bag pipes? I cry at bag pipes, wonder why.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'd want to be in that marching band if all the horses were in front of me. :[
ReplyDeleteParade and then BBQ, a great day
ReplyDelete