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Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
By: Hailey Hickl
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is known as the largest live entertainment and livestock exposition in the world. It has been held in Reliant Stadium, in Houston Texas since 2003, and was previously held in the Astrodome. The event is 20 days long and is started by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup near the Houston City Hall, the Downtown Rodeo Parade, ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run- a 10k and 5k walk and run, and the World’s Championship Bar-Be-Que Contest. Every year, many schools have their art programs take part in The Rodeo Art Competition. The winner of the competition gets their artwork featured in the Rodeo and gets prize money and even an art scholarship! You get your score by a ribbon the judges pin onto your artwork.
The show also features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions, concerts, a carnival, pig racing, barbecue, International Wine Competition, shopping, sales and a livestock show precedes the Rodeo events. Houston celebrates this event with Go Texan Day, where residents are encouraged to dress in western wear the Friday before the rodeo begins It originated in 1931, and was known as “The Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition”. The attendance rises higher and higher every year, and the general attendance for 2013 was 2,506,238 people. The rodeo attendance was 1,308,288, slightly lower than the general, but it was still an amazing turn-out, and the biggest one yet. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a great way to socialize, and perfect for families.
Rodeo Art
By: Alysha Decou
Since 1932, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has donated more than $350 million to scholarships, research, endowments, calf scramble participants, junior show exhibitors, school art participants, and other educational youth programs. At Huffman Middle School, we have 250 students creating art work for the Houston Livestock Show. Every year all of the Huffman schools sign up with the Houston Livestock show. All of the students in art class have to create a drawing of their own. Only 50 people get picked to be in the Houston Livestock show. This is a year-round thing so students have to start preparing in May. This year for rodeo art they have made a change; they cannot have names on the art. Names are being replaced with numbers. While the judges judge, no one can be in the room. They pick eight pieces of art, then they re-judge them and pick a Grand Champion and a Runner up Grand Champion. If you win grand champion or runner up, you could win a scholarship for an art college.