August Rodeo Events in Texas

If it is not hot enough for you yet, take in a rodeo in August in Texas. Most of the arenas are not air conditioned and many events are held outside. However, there is something about the smell of horses, straw and manure that makes cowboys a little crazy and you might just witness a new champion in the making.

Originally cowboys developed ranching skills such as bronco busting, bull riding, steer wrestling, and calf roping as these skills were needed.  What started as a rounding up of cattle to move them to rail heads or to another pasture has now become a professional sport. Rules for handling valuable rodeo livestock are laid out by the American Humane Association.

So get your hat and boots, jeans and western shirt and take a step into the life of a cowboy. It is a dangerous and brutal life and most rodeo riders have most of their bones broken before they retire.  I do not think they do it for the money because it is not much.  I think it may be that huge belt buckle that draws them in.

Big Bend

August 12-13
Alpine, Texas
Big Ranch Rodeo
Phone: (432)364-2696

Come see working cowboys show real cowboy skills and celebrate the area’s ranching heritage. Includes adult and youth rodeo competitions, parade and cook-off. Sul Ross State University S.A.L.E. Arena, U.S. 90 at Paso del Norte

Central Texas

August 4 – 6
Bastrop, Texas
Bastrop Homecoming and Rodeo
Phone: (512)923-1440

Dances and live music Thursday-Saturday, rodeo, parade, carnival, and arts and crafts fair. Mayfest Hill, Ken Estepp Showbarn, 100 Arena Drive.

August 5, 12, 19, 26
Bandera, Texas
Twin Elm Ranch Rodeo
Phone: (830)796-3628

Watch bull riding and favorite rodeo events. Includes a calf scramble and mutton busting for children. They have added an RV campground, so spend awhile and enjoy the horses, scenery and food. They also have a pool, access to Medina River and horseback riding. $25 per night.

August 5, 12, 19, 26
Pipe Creek, Texas
BR Lightning Ranch Rodeo
Phone: (830)535-4979

BR Lightning Ranch Summer Buckle Series Rodeo and Pipe Creek Stampede takes place  every Friday night, June 3 – September 2, weather permitting.

East Texas

August 4 – 6
Lufkin, Texas
Texas Championship Youth Rodeo for Christ (no website found)
Phone: (936)637-3976

200+ athletes, ages 18 and under, will compete in bull riding, calf roping and barrel racing at the George H. Henderson Jr. Expo Center at 6 pm each night. General admission is $5. Saturday, 10 finalists in each category will compete in a championship round. Tickets for Saturday are $10. Former lead singer of the country music group Lonestar, Richie McDonald, will perform Saturday night.

August 17 – 20
New Boston, TX
Pioneer Days & Rodeo
Phone: (903)628-2581

Fun for the entire family includes a carnival, art show, car show, bounce park for children, food and quilt show, fiddlers’ contest, food and crafts vendors, a 42- tournament, four-wheeler competition, volleyball, parade and live entertainment. T & P Trailhead Park, U.S. 82 at South Ellis Street.

North Texas

August 5 – 6, 12 – 13, 19 – 20, 26 – 27
Mesquite, Texas
Mesquite ProRodeo Series
Phone: (972)285-8777 or (469)939-3677

Rodeo events include tie-down roping,  steer wrestling,  bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, team roping, barrel racing. Mesquite Championship Rodeo offers the always exciting action of Professional Bull riding from the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).  Events  start at 730 pm at the Resistol Arena at Rodeo Center, 1818 Rodeo Drive.

August 19 – 27
Denton, Texas
North Texas State Fair and Rodeo
Phone: (940)387-2632

World championship rodeo, music, carnival rides and games, fiddling contest, petting zoos and barbecue cook-offs. North Texas Fairgrounds, 2217 N. Carroll Blvd.

Panhandle

August 4 – 6
Dalhart, Texas
XIT Rodeo & Reunion
Phone: (806)244-5646

Join the reunion and celebrate the cowhands that worked the famous XIT Ranch.Nightly rodeos, dances, free pork chop feed on Thursday, free watermelon feed on Friday, World’s Largest Free Barbecue on Saturday, queen’s contest, street parade, 5K run, tractor pulls and more. Rita Blanca Coliseum & Rodeo Grounds.

August 5-6
Quanah, Texas
Quanah Riding Club Parade & Rodeo
E-Mail: quanahcoc@cebridge.net
Phone: 940-663-2222
Rodeo Secretary 940-839-7751

Rodeo parade Friday afternoon at 430 pm in downtown Quanah. BBQ served from 530-7 pm at Quanah Community Center. Rodeo begins at 8 pm. Special events include a 50+ Calf Scramble, After the rodeo, there will be a dance with The National Swing Band of Texas.

August 11 – 13
Post, Texas
Post Stampede Rodeo
Phone: (806)495-3461

Features a nightly rodeo and a 3 pm parade on Saturday. Post Stampede Rodeo Grounds.

Sights and Sounds of Christmas in San Marcos, Texas is expanding to four  nights.  New attractions, a huge carnival, 5K run, toy train exhibit,  motorcycle parade, classic car parade, Little Town of Bethlehem with live nativity and angels–on both sides of  San Marcos River lit by thousands of  lights.  For more detailed information see the Sights and Sounds website.

A Night in Old Bethlehem

EVENTS SCHEDULE

• Wednesday and  Thursday: 5:30pm-10:30pm
• Friday: 530pm-11pm
• Saturday: 5K Kick Off 9 am
• Saturday: 1pm-11pm

Huge Carnival

ADMISSION

Admission for kids 10-and-under is FREE and all others are only $4 each

Fast Pass Limited Edition Button ($10)–enjoy all four nights for one price

Sights and Sounds of Christmas

This is the best celebration of Christmas that I have ever attended.  I took my infant son to see Santa come in by helicopter and ride the fire engine to the river.  That was 17 years ago.  He still attends every year.

There is a website called the MAiZE (themaize.com).  Where you may find most of the mazes in your area.  There is one in Poland, one in the UK, many in Canada and at least 100 in the USA.  However, keep your eyes open because many people are getting in the act!

So, check the weather and then go out and enjoy a fall day and evening in the outdoors with your family. It is big fun!  Make sure to check the weather, because most of the mazes do not operate in the rain.  Pack a jacket, bug spray and sunscreen (this is TEXAS).  Do not forget your camera.  I guarantee you will take at least one priceless picture of a loved one with hay in his/her hair!

Dewberry Farm is located west of Katy in Brookshire, Texas.  Open weekends September 25 to November 23 with 4-acre Corn Maze and 16-acre Pumpkin Patch, not to mention rubber duck races, pig races, petting zoo, pony rides, zip lines and pedal cars.  Shoot a pumpkin and corn cannons.

Fiddlesticks Farms is on the east side of Midland off  I-20.  Look for the big red barn on the south side of County Road 120. Play in the cornfield maze or take a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkin. Visit the Learning Barn and see baby farm animals, live milking demonstration, and get the feeling of real farm life.  Jump on the hay pile, slide down the tube slide or potato sack slide.  The pumpkin blaster and cow train are just a few more places to have big fun.

Kaska Family Farm, 15893 County Line Road North, West, TX, is open Saturday, September 25 through Sunday, October  31. Enjoy the corn maze, a corn (not sand)  box, shoot the corn cannon.  Take a hayride, walk the haunted trail (10 and older),  attack a hump of hay or bounce in the jump house.  Food is available as well.

Rocky Creek Maze is located at the  Chaloupka Farm, 784 County Road 251,- Moulton, TX. The farm opens to the public on October 1 and closes November 27.  Features  are corn canon, hay rides, hay jump, barrel train ride, frog hopper, pumpkins, butterfly garden, family slide, mini maze and duck races.  The haunted maze, s seven acres of corn with carved pathways creating a giant puzzle, opens on October 15 and is then open Fridays and Saturdays through October 30 and Sunday, October 31.

South Texas MAiZE is located on US Highway 90 East in  Hondo, TX on the Graff Family Farm.  The maize is a 7-acre labyrinth of twists, turns, and dead ends carved into stalks over your head. There is a huge trampoline called the corn popper and a barrel train for the children. Slide down the tube slide or watch the Boer goats manage the two-story goat walk. There is a separate area, complete with swings, slide,  hay pyramid and tractor, for the little folk.  For something different (and $$), rent a campfire with table and hay bales for four hours.  The family starts and maintains the fire.  You may bring your own food to cook over the fire or reserve a hot dog and marshmallow package ($$).