Participating in and watching rodeo is a tradition in Tucson, and La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros Rodeo is an established part of this history.
Dating back to 1925 and organized by the Tucson Rodeo Committee, La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros Rodeo is set for Saturday, Feb. 18, to Sunday, Feb. 26. During its six performances, it attracts around 70,000 people.
Rodeo Chairman Jose Calderon said the rodeo stays true to its roots.
“We have kept it pretty traditional. We don’t like to make too many changes,” Calderon said.
In addition to rodeo events, the venue will host a beer garden, a Vaquero Mercantile with western-themed vendors and visits from the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile the first weekend.
Calderon said multiple generations enjoy the rodeo.
“When I see a little boy with a cowboy hat or a little girl with pigtails, that to me is generation after generation they have been coming,” Calderon said.
“There’s nothing better than seeing the simple smile and the laughs of a little kid and then the life it brings to the parents and the grandparents.”
During the rodeo, cowboys from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) will compete in rough stock events such as saddle bronc, bull and bareback riding and timed events such as tie-down roping, steer wrestling and team roping.
For cowgirls from the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), there will be women’s barrel racing.
The Tucson rodeo kicks of the PRCA season, as the National Finals Rodeo is held in December. The rodeo brings in 600 contestants from around North and South America.
Each day of the rodeo starting at 12:30 p.m. there will be a junior rodeo for young people 6 to 13 and mutton bustin’ for kids 4 to 6. During the junior rodeo, participants compete in steer riding, barrel racing, bull riding and roping events.
Lonestar, known for their songs “Amazed” and “I’m Already There, will perform on Saturday, Feb. 18, after the rodeo.
The following day, the rodeo will host Wear Pink Day to create awareness about breast cancer.
On Thursday, Feb. 23 as part of Navy Day, members of the U.S. Navy will sing the national anthem, and six new Navy recruits will be sworn in.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, Sunday, Feb. 19, and Thursday, Feb. 23, to Sunday, Feb. 26, following the rodeo, barn dances will be held with live country bands.
Tucson Rodeo Parade
Before the rodeo on Thursday, the Tucson Rodeo Parade will create a festive atmosphere.
It is the largest nonmotorized parade in the country, attracting around 150,000 spectators. Organized by 29-member Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee, the event runs from Ajo Highway and Fair Avenue east to Park Avenue, south on Park to Irvington Road, west on Irvington to Sixth Avenue and north on Sixth to the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.
Wagner is a longtime parade fan.
“I was born and raised here in Tucson. I remember going to the parade as a kid, watching my sister march in the high school band,” Wagner said.
The committee expects 116 entries, including marching bands, dance and musical groups, western riding groups, Native American royalty, re-enactment groups and businesses.
This year in honor of U.S. Navy Week, a vice admiral from the US Navy will ride in a wagon with submarine veterans. Sailors from the USS Tucson, the USS Gabrielle Giffords and the USS John S. McCain will also take part in the parade.
The League of Mexican American Women and the Mormon Battalion have been part of the festivities for more than 50 years.
Decorated wagons are main features of the parade. More than 65 of them come from the Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum, and others are owned by companies and individuals.
Entrants have a chance to sponsor and decorate these wagons.
In the past, participants have often adorned these wagons with crepe paper, paper flowers or streamers.
This year, the grand marshal is Jessica Cox, a motivational speaker, author, pilot and Guinness World Record holder. She was born without arms and uses her feet to complete tasks, such as operating planes.
There will be pre-parade entertainment from the Square and Round Dance Association of Southern Arizona, a lion dance team from the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, the U.S. Navy Honor Guard and Drill Team, Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School and the Grupo Folklorico Los Guerreros de Pueblo High School.
The parade museum, which will be open on select times during the rodeo, has more than 125 horse-drawn vehicles on display at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.
La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros Rodeo
WHEN: Gates open 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, to Sunday, Feb. 26; both Saturdays and Sundays, Thursday and Friday
WHERE: Tucson Rodeo Grounds, 4823 S. Sixth Avenue, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $18; $9 per vehicle for parking at rodeo grounds
INFO: 520-741-2233, tucsonrodeo.com
Tucson Rodeo Parade
WHEN: 9 a.m. start. Thursday, Feb. 23
WHERE: Ajo Highway and Fair Avenue to Park Avenue, Park Avenue to Irvington Road, Irvington Road to Sixth Avenue, Sixth Avenue to Tucson Rodeo Grounds
COST: Free admission, $10 for pre-purchased grandstand seating for adults and $5 for children 12 and under
INFO: tucsonrodeoparade.com
Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum
WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 18, Sunday, Feb. 19, Wednesday Feb. 22, Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26
WHERE: Tucson Rodeo Grounds, 4823 S. Sixth Avenue, Tucson
COST: $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $2 for children under 16, 50% discount for military and first responders.
