Tucson Rodeo Parade:
Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 9:00 AM
The 94th Annual Fiesta de los Vaqueros, the Tucson Rodeo Parade for 2019 is a Tucson tradition that brings the vibrant history and colors of the Southwest to life each February in conjunction with the Tucson Rodeo.
The Tucson Rodeo Parade is FREE to spectators along most of its 2.5 mile route. Ticketed grandstand seating is available.
Ticketed grandstand seating that includes pre-parade entertainment is also available next to the Rodeo Grounds on Irvington Road. Grandstand tickets are $10 each for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under. Pre-parade entertainment includes Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, the Sons of Orpheus men’s chorus, and a showdown gunfight show featuring the Pinnacle Peak Pistoleros.
Entries compete in 21 classes ranging from Western Riding Groups and Historical to Most Comical and Multiple-team Hitch. There are three special awards: The Curt Sullivan Sweepstakes award (overall best entry) the Chairman’s Award and the Judge’s Award; and two special band awards named after past Parade Committee members, the Paul Grimes award (Outstanding music performance) and the Bucky Steele award (Outstanding marching performance). Continuing the tradition of no motorized entries, the entire parade is propelled by real horsepower.
Tucson Rodeo Parade App Now Available
The Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee is committed to producing not only the longest non-mechanized parade in the world, and one of the largest wagon museums in the country, but also enhancing the overall parade experience through their parade app.
The app, sponsored by Tucson Electric Power, not only provides the users with the parade entries and announcer’s script, but also vital information for before, during, and after the parade. The app provides information on road closures, public parking, parade staging area/line-up, parade route, grandstands, first aid, lost children, local businesses, and restrooms.
The app can be viewed as a list of information or overlaid on Google Maps.
The app can be viewed on phone, tablet, or laptop/desktop.
If spectators are not near an announcing booth, the app is a great way to follow the parade.
WHAT’S
NEW: The parade script will now be offered in both English and Spanish to ease the viewing for our Hispanic community. The Parade Committee’s goal is to have an image from every entry on the app and if available, each entry page could include a photo gallery from the previous year.
Users will also be able to share their favorite entry with friends and family directly from the app.
The app will be viewable year-round.
WHERE: Downloads are FREE and available from both Google Play and the App Store. Desktop version is available at https://pointsmap.com/tucsonrodeoparade
WHEN: The app is currently available for download, but includes the 2017 entries. 2018 entries will be posted after February 1st once the official line-up is finished. Most non-entry information from the 2017 parade will be unchanged for 2018 and can be used as a recourse for 2018 spectator planning.
COST: Thank you to Tucson Electric Power for making this app available free from both Google Play and the App Store.
Tucson Rodeo Parade Route and Parking
The parade route circles the Tucson Rodeo Grounds. Entrants start at Ajo Way and Fair Avenue, travel east to Park Avenue, south on Park Avenue, west onto Irvington Road and north on Sixth Avenue where they return to the Rodeo Grounds. The route is approximately 2.5 miles in length.
Parking is available to the public at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds before 8 a.m., when Tucson Police close down the streets to accommodate the Tucson Rodeo Parade.
Included in the procession are local and national dignitaries, Native American royalty and performers, historical wagons and colorful floats, marching bands and mariarchies, royalty from five rodeos and working cowboys. The League of Mexican-American Women and Mormon Battalion are entries that have been in the parade greater than 30 consecutive years.
- WATCHING THE PARADE: The parade is free to spectators along the route. The Parade Committee asks all spectators to follow instructions from Tucson Police Department (TPD) officers and parade volunteers to help ensure a safe parade. All spectators must stay off the curb line. Arrive early to secure viewing spots along the parade route, or sit in the grandstands along Irvington Road near the Rodeo Grounds.
- Noisemakers (horns, cap guns, balloons, poppers) may not be brought to the parade and will be confiscated. Also for safety, spectators are restricted to the official parade route and may not enter the staging and line-up areas in the Fairgrounds Neighborhood.
- RODEO PARADE TICKETS: Grandstand tickets can be purchased online at www.tucsonrodeoparade.org or at the Rodeo Parade Office at 4823 South Sixth Avenue or via phone with a credit card (294-1280). Grandstand tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.
- PARKING: Parking is available at the Rodeo Grounds before 8 a.m. Pre-parade entertainment at the grandstands begins at 8 a.m. Spectators driving to the parade will have the traditional access to parking on the rodeo grounds through the gate on 3rd Avenue. Access the 3rd avenue gate by traveling west bound on Irvington to 3rd, then through the gate. Please note that Irvington is completely closed at 8 a.m. except for parade spectators and performers. Arrive early to see our pre-parade entertainment beginning at 8 a.m. Someone at the gate will provide instructions on where to park.
- GRANDSTAND ENTERTAINMENT seating includes pre-parade entertainment. Tickets are only $10 each for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under. Pre-parade entertainment includes Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, the Sons of Orpheus men's chorus, and a showdown gunfight show featuring the Pinnacle Peak Pistoleros.
- Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum is open now through April 7, 2018. * Here you can walk among more than 125 horse-drawn vehicles and great displays featuring life as it was in late 19th century Tucson.
The Museum is at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds, corner of 6th Ave and Irvington Road. Museum hours are 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday; closed Sundays. Museum admission donation is $10 per adult; $7 for seniors over 65; children under 16 are $2. Private tours may be arranged year-round by contacting Bob Stewart @ 520-591-9585 or 520-294-1280.
During the Rodeo, Feb 17-25, 2018 - Museum operates on reduced hours! Call 520-294-1280 for details.
- TUCSON RODEO PARADE SPONSORSHIP Sponsorships are available in a variety of levels for Arizona's largest single-day spectator event with over 150,000 spectators on the parade route and a live Television broadcast to over 35,000 households. Please contact the Parade office or Ken Tittelbaugh at 520-841-1131 for sponsorship information.
Saturday, February 24 & Sunday, February 25th. The community of Oracle honors the iconic 19th century world entertainer and local miner William “Buffalo Bill” Cody at the Oracle Inn Steakhouse & Lounge 1-5pm. Free entertainment, presentations, book talks, movies, treats, and a treasure hunt for kids. Free jewelry drawing. National Buffalo Bill Look-a-Like winner Dane Johnson will re-enact Cody’s life in Oracle.
History of the Tucson Rodeo and Parade
In 1924, Frederick Leighton Kramer, President of the Arizona Polo Association and later recognized as the Founder of the Tucson Rodeo and Rodeo Parade, gathered a group of local business men to discuss the possibility of having a Rodeo. Continue reading about the Tucson Rodeo Parade History.
The Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum is now open.
For more information about the Tucson Rodeo Parade
Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee, Inc.
P.O. Box 1788 Tucson, Arizona 85702
Phone: 520-294-1280 | Museum: 520-294-3636
Read about the Treasures of the Santa Catalina Mountains
Discover the forgotten history and legends of the Catalina Mountains– the lost Iron Door Mine, the lost city and the lost mission; the history of Oracle and Buffalo Bill Cody's gold mines in the Catalinas. Purchase copies at the Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum. Read sample chapters, download FREE PDF and order online: Treasures of the Santa Catalina Mountains.