More people showed up at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to ogle at cowboys riding bulls and broncs and eat fried fair food than the number of people who live in any Texas city, according to facts and figures released by RodeoHouston.
A record-breaking 2.6 million people came to the rodeo from March 7 to March 26, the most in RodeoHouston’s 85-year history. The show also broke its single-day attendance record with 185,667 people on Saturday, March 18. And two of the live concerts landed in the rodeo’s top 20 concert attendance records of all time, including Luke Bryan with 75,033 and Banda El Recodo and Siggno with 75,557 on Go Tejano Day.
“Powered by more than 33,000 volunteers, the 2017 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo successfully provided a record number of visitors with a world-class entertainment experience,” said Joel Cowley, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO. “During the 2017 show, fans were immersed in one-of-a-kind educational and agricultural exhibits, larger-than-life entertainment, and nightly celebrations of Western heritage during RODEOHOUSTON®.”
Other record-breakers included the prices of some of the most prized livestock. World record-breakers include the Grand Champion Barrow at $212,000, the Reserve Grand Champion Barrow at $133,000 and the Grand Champion Lamb at $270,000. Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band, which performed Saturday night, purchased the Grand Reserve Steer for a whopping $330,000.
Last, people also ate stomach-churning amounts of carnival food: Top contenders were 47,480 tamales, 38,000 cinnamon rolls, 18,915 barbecue sandwiches, 10,819 sausages on a stick and 8,000 funnel cakes.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2017.
