In the Old Pueblo, January means more than just mild winter weather: It means it’s time to think about saddling up for the Tucson Rodeo and the Tucson Rodeo Parade season.
The first event on the calendar is the Second Annual Tucson Rodeo & Parade Barn Dance at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.
“Really this is the kickoff to the rodeo season. Tucson is deep in rodeo, and anytime someone mentions it, people get ecstatic. People can’t get enough of it,” said Faith Boice, 42, chairwoman of the dance.
The dance is a fundraiser for La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo and the Tucson Rodeo Parade.
Boice, a member of the Tucson Rodeo Parade committee who has been involved with the parade since age 8, said many people are not aware the Tucson Rodeo Parade and its museum are presented by an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization.
“This museum is very unique, and so is our parade. It is the only rodeo parade in the country in which all of the entries are all horse-drawn — it is non-motorized. When you are child and you are raised around that, it is not odd, but as I have grown into an adult I have realized what a gem it is,” said Boice.
She emphasized the Rodeo Parade Museum displays more than 100 vehicles — wagons, buggies, stagecoaches, flatbed wagons, surreys, chemical and fire wagons, sleds, sleighs, the city’s first garbage truck and much more — in its four buildings on the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.
The museum also features Western memorabilia and photos; farm and ranch machinery and tools; a railroad display and diorama of Tucson during the 1880s; an exhibit that re-creates Tucson buildings and life in the 1900s (complete with blacksmith shop, laundry, line shack, jail, mercantile and much more).
“We have pieces in our museum inventory that literally came from the Oregon territory and other pieces that were built by the Rondstadt family. It is the real thing, and maintaining all of that equipment and the heritage of the rodeo and the rodeo parade becomes more and more important as time progresses,” Boice said.
Cultivating awareness about the culture and history of the “Vaquero lifestyle” through La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, the Rodeo Parade and events such as the Barn Dance is essential, according to Jose Calderon, chairman of the Tucson Rodeo Committee.
“With Arizona being right there connected with Mexico, La Fiesta de los Vaqueros — ‘The Celebration of the Cowboys’ — has been ingrained within our families and our history. Lots of great things in life unfortunately fade away and don’t come back, and we want to keep that Western tradition of rodeo alive.
“People come from all over the world who don’t get to experience things like this. Some have never seen a rodeo event or cowboy, and for them to visit our rodeo and see how it really was back in the old days is very cool,” said Calderon.
Calderon said the Tucson Rodeo remains among the top 25 rodeos nationwide, attracting the best cowboys, cowgirls, stock and horses from around the country.
He credited the 35 board members and more than 600 volunteers who stage the Tucson Rodeo for its ongoing success.
“We are all volunteers. We don’t get paid and many of us spend more time working at this than at our own jobs. It is a big responsibility, but with both the Tucson Rodeo committee and the Rodeo Parade committee you have such great men and women working around you that it makes the job easier and very enjoyable. It is an honor being part of a great tradition which is the biggest event in Tucson that has continued for 93 years,” he said.
Calderon and Boice view the upcoming Barn Dance as an ideal precursor to the 93rd La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, which begins on Saturday, Feb. 17 and continues through Sunday, Feb. 25.
Boice said that last year about 500 people attended the dance, which featured “good ol’ honkey-tonk music,” dancing, a food truck by Las Vigas, a cash bar and raffles.
Calderon said it is an ideal opportunity for the general public to don boots and hats and try country dancing and for volunteers affiliated with the rodeo and rodeo parade to enjoy some fun and relaxation.
