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Friday, Feb. 23 marks 70 years of Go Texan Day, a Houston-area tradition that signals the beginning of rodeo season. On the Friday before the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo officially begins — this year, it’ll be Tuesday the 27th — folks in the city and surrounding areas will be donning their western duds (and maybe even playing up or affecting an accent) and celebrating one of the year’s biggest events.
But for new Houstonians, the sudden switch to cowboy aesthetics when we’re not adhering to them the other 364 days of the year can be a little jarring. It’s not a collective practical joke or hazing ritual for the freshmen; it’s a longstanding local tradition with an interesting history behind it.
What is Go Texan Day?
Despite the name, Go Texan Day is only celebrated in Houston and the surrounding areas. At its simplest, it’s commemorated by wearing anything from a piece of jewelry with western flair to full-on cowpoke cosplay. Schools and offices will often relax the dress code and allow jeans and Stetsons for the day, and maybe even hold contests for the best outfits.
Go Texan Day is touted as “an unofficial kickoff” to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, but the organization still runs its own events to generate hype for the incoming month-long celebration. Head downtown to Hermann Square, located at 901 Bagby, and enjoy a free family event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. full of photo ops, live music, and chopped barbecue sandwiches (yes, also free) from the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Committee. The rodeo will also be hosting its annual contest to see which Houstonians most creatively embody the Go Texan Day spirit.
“Go Texan Day is for really, really hyperlocal pride,” says Holly Clapham, chief marketing officer at Houston First. “You're not going to ever see me in a cowboy hat ever, except if it's Go Texan Day or the barbecue cookoff… When we have clients or media in town, [we use the rodeo to] show off this really wonderful personality, this side of Houston. But I have to tell them that the same people that you see in their cowboy getup and celebrating are going to be in their suits in the office on Monday.”
Some families prefer taking a more personal approach to Go Texan Day. Mary McCall, a Houston-based operations consultant and parent of two, loves that their youngest child is starting to sport hand-me-down western wear from her older sibling. In fact, she just got her first pair of boots, and McCall dresses to match. While the eldest in the family is a teen who prefers emo and pop-punk-inspired fashions now, they still launched a beloved Go Texan Day tradition at age three that continues today.
“They wanted to be in the same kind of outfits that the trail riders were in. My mom used to work at Williams Tower, which was a stop for several different trail rides,” McCall says. “And we would go there, be in cowboy boots and a hat, and get to sit on the horses and talk to the trail riders. … Now that we're living in Independence Heights, we can literally go to the corner of Crosstimbers and Yale and see the Black trail riders, which my little one has been really liking. We're gonna do it again this year.”
What is the history behind Go Texan Day?
Go Texan Day came about as a way for Archer Romero, then-president of the Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition (renamed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1961) to drum up some advanced hype for the event. The first Go Texan Day was celebrated in 1954 and grew in size and popularity alongside the Rodeo as it moved from Sam Houston Hall to Sam Houston Coliseum to the Astrodome to NRG Park (which, OK, still technically includes the Astrodome’s desecrated corpse).
“I think it was a brilliant maneuver for them to do that, because it really initiated a tradition on top of what has become a phenomenal celebration for Houston,” says Clapham. “It only makes sense that there was brilliance from the very beginning.”
It’s always important to note that cowboy history also includes Black history, Indigenous history, and Latino history, especially in Texas. A city that prides itself on its “melting pot” milieu should acknowledge how reality diverges from the mythology that may crop up during rodeo season.
“If we had a journalist coming in from the U.K., or from Los Angeles or Chicago, during [rodeo] time, we would have to give them a preface of the fact that in Houston, we're a tapestry of cultures. We’re this amazing urban core of diversity,” says Clapham. “Definitely different from the spaghetti westerns – barbecue has its origin in African-American culture. The cultural roots of barbecue and rodeo and all the peripheral things that can go along with Go Texan Day and the rodeo, there's a bigger story to tell.”
Houston Chronicle columnist Chris Tomlinson noted last year that, while Go Texan Day is undeniably a wholesome, innocent fun time, Texas really only began heavily advertising itself as a western state in the early 1950s — the Fat Stock Show, however, was first held in 1932. Prior to that, leaders spent more time propping up the state’s Confederate-and-cotton bona fides. The switch came about largely as a response to the rising popularity of western films and television programs such as “The Lone Ranger.”
“The cattle-drive era, though, lasted less than 30 years in Texas, and while the cattle-driving business made a few people wealthy, it didn’t contribute much to the state’s economy or employment,” Tomlinson wrote.
As Houstonians button up their pearl snaps and straighten their bolos, it’s a time to both celebrate and reflect on what all really went into contributing to the city’s special day.
What is the history behind the Livestock Show and Rodeo?
The Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition began in 1931 as a Texas State Hotel lunch meeting about preserving the state’s cattle industry. Its first event was held in 1932 at the Democratic Convention Hall and focused mainly on promoting the new American Brahman breed and other agricultural initiatives from the Greater Houston Area. Rodeo events, a horse showcase and the parade were added in 1938, coinciding with the show’s move to the Sam Houston Coliseum.
The Rodeo keeps a more detailed and comprehensive history on its website, with info on some of its legendary performers (Elvis came to the Astrodome in 1970, hometown heroine Beyoncé made appearances in 2004 and 2007), when it adapted the “Bowlegged H” logo, acceptance into national rodeo organizations, and more. It’s a worthwhile rabbit hole for any current, former, and incoming Houstonian.
These days, it’s the largest rodeo in the world, routinely drawing crowds of over two million people.
Last year, Rodeo welcomed a total of 2,479,004 attendees to all events. Economic Analytics Consulting, LLC, has only made available an economic impact report from 2019 thus far, but the numbers speak for themselves. This is what the Rodeo contributes to Houston, and why it matters to so many people:
- Total economic impact of $227 million
- Total fiscal impact of $13 million
- 3,694 direct jobs created
- 5,133 jobs created in the Greater Houston Area
Much of the money that goes into the events goes directly back into the city via scholarships and grants to local students. Since 1932, the Rodeo has contributed over $600 million toward education initiatives – $27,317,634 in 2024 alone. This year, the $125,000 Bridge Grant for Financial Gaps from the Rodeo helped provide support for final-semester University of Houston Downtown students facing hardship to pay off their tuition and fees.
If newly-minted Houstonians find themselves baffled as to why the Rodeo inspires such strong emotions and loyalty at the local level, it might be because for old-timers, they or someone they’re close to has benefited from the organization’s community involvement.
What are some ways to get involved in Go Texan Day?
Dressing up for Go Texan Day is the most common way for Houstonians to celebrate the incoming rodeo. McCall mentions square dancing at school during rodeo season while growing up in Sharpstown.
More passionate Go Texan Day fans may want to organize events, intended for Rodeo contest entry or not, with friends and coworkers. Others can sign up to volunteer with the Rodeo itself and spread the fun into the rest of the season. If your schedule is a little tight, you can always make a donation to the numerous philanthropic initiatives the Rodeo supports throughout the year, including its education fund.
One doesn’t even have to live in the Greater Houston Area to take part, either.
Anna Schumann, a native Houstonian who serves as communications director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, DC, became a self-described “Texpat” a decade ago. Now residing in Maryland, she still dresses up every year for Go Texan Day as a little chili-and-funnel-cake-flavored taste of home.
“It seemed like a really nice homage to Houston and to Texas. I might not go all out like I used to. I might not wear full rodeo garb, but I will wear my necklace with the shape of Texas or my boots, just some kind of reminder of Go Texan Day,” Schumann says. “It's so special. The Rodeo is such a happy time, and it kicks off such a happy season.”
She has yet to rally anyone around her to join in on the fun, but she mentions that her husband, a Maryland native, is “kind of intrigued by the whole thing.” Her coworkers also once gave her a birthday card themed around the Rodeo’s annual Mutton Bustin’ competition, where kids ride on and race sheep. For the time being, though, it doesn’t seem like Go Texan Day will be breaching containment anytime soon.
It’s a sentiment that Clapham agrees with.
“When I go back to the roots of what it was created for, as a way to usher in what is uniquely Houston, and that is as varied as Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,” she says. “So I feel like we should be selfish and keep it, because it's ours.”
What are the key dates to mark for this rodeo season?
Move 'em on, head 'em up, Rawhide! Roll them doggies over to your calendar and mark these days to celebrate the Rodeo beyond Go Texan Day:
- Various: Trail ride start dates (check here for routes)
- Thursday, Feb. 22-24: World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest (details here)
- Friday, Feb. 23: Go Texan Day
- Saturday, Feb. 24: Rodeo Run (details here)
- Saturday, Feb. 24: Downtown Rodeo Parade (details here)
- Tuesday, Feb. 27: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo officially begins
- Wednesday, Feb. 28: Armed Forces Appreciation Day at the Rodeo
- Wednesday, Feb. 28: Family Wednesday (details here)
- Thursday, Feb. 29: Sensory Friendly Day (details here)
- Friday, March 1: Black Heritage Day at the Rodeo
- Monday, March 4: First Responders Appreciation Day at the Rodeo
- Wednesday, March 6: Community Day at the Rodeo
- Thursday, March 7: Volunteer Appreciation Day at the Rodeo
- Sunday, March 10: Go Tejano Day at the Rodeo
- Wednesday, March 13: Family Wednesday
- Sunday, March 17: Final day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Meredith Nudo is a Houston-based writer, comedian, and voice actor with bylines in Houstonia, Chron.com, Houston Press, Texas Signal, and San Francisco Chronicle.
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