The city of Denver which is popularly known as the Mile High City (due to its official elevation of exactly a mile) every year in January hosts a fascinating horse and cattle show called the National Western Stock Show. However to dismiss this exciting WildWest extravaganza as merely a cattle trading affair would be grossly unfair as this exciting event which is actually regarded as one of Denver’s biggest attractions also features many thrilling horse and rodeo shows along with live stock exhibits and sales.
This year this wild west festival is to be held over a period of two weeks from the 10th of January until the 25th of January 2009 at the National Western complex in located downtown Denver, Colorado. This large complex which is spread over 600,000 square feet is ideal for the staging of the various events and contests of the festival which will as always feature a wide range of animals like show horses, llamas, buffalo, goats, and miniature and draft horses amongst others.
The National Western Stock Show is more than a century old as the event was first held way back in 1906 when it was a mere six day event that featured much live stock trading. However it was this time that the National Western Stock Show was reorganized as a ‘not for profit organization’ whose mission statement was to preserve the western lifestyle through an emphasis on education. Keeping this mission statement in mind, today the
National Western Trust provides more sixty annual scholarships to college students who are engaged in the study of agribusiness and rural medicine in colleges located in the states of Colorado and Wyoming. Moreover this trust also aims to educate and inform its more than 700,000 annual visitors about the agriculture and its allied services and products during the entire duration of the festival.
The festival also has a cultural bent to it, as it traditionally kicks off with the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale which is then open to the public for during the two weeks of the National Western Stock Show. This exhibit displays the works of artists who are known for portraying life in the wild west in their works. These works usually cover a wide range of mediums and styles and tend to appeal to a majority of the visitors. In addition, the Coors Western Art and Exhibit Sale also each year has a featured artist and this year the featured artist for the 2009 National Western Stock Show is the Denver based painter M.W. Skip Whitcomb. M.W. Skip Whitcomb in keeping with tradition has produced the official poster commemorating National Western Stock Show this year. This poster is available for sale currently on the official website of the National Western Stock Show and will also be available at the Coors Art Gallery during the festival The proceeds from sale of the poster and these other art works will benefit to the National Western Scholarship Trust. Apart from fine art, visitors to the National Western Stock Show will also be to shop for a variety of apparel, household items, jewelry and agricultural products and equipment at e various stalls which will be set up all throughout vast complex for the duration of the show.
However the true stars of the National Western Stock show are the animals and the festival as usual has a vast array of ticketed and free events where you will be able to see the various animals that are traditionally associated with the wild west. Some of the most popular shows at the National Western Stock Show historically are -:
PRO Rodeo
This event which will be held at various times during the two week long National Western Stock Show is often considered to be the star event of the spectacle as it features cowboys and cowgirls who will perform a number of athletic maneuvers along with bulls and broncos. Reserved seats for the PRO rodeo are priced at $8 upwards and are available online and at the National Western Box office.
National Western Draft horse and Mule Show
This event is to be held at various times from Friday the 23rd of January to Sunday the 25th of January and will feature the work horses of yesteryear, the small draft horses and the mules. Reserved seats for this event are priced from $12.
Super Dogs
Touted to be the best family event of the National Western Stock Show, the Super Dogs International will feature twenty dogs that will perform several tricks, stunts and comedy antics in a routine choreographed to popular music. This extremely popular event is known to draw cheers from the crowds year after year. The Super Dog International is scheduled to be held on Monday the 19th and Tuesday the 20th of January this year.
The Dancing Horses Show
This highly entertaining show will feature a number of dressage, freestyle reining, drill and other equestrian disciplines which will all be preformed in a carefully choreographed routine set to the music of the Denver Brass. This popular event which attracts the world class performers is scheduled to take place twice on Wednesday the 21st and Thursday the 22nd of January. Tickets for the event are priced at $18.
These are just a few of the many exciting and entertaining which have been lined up for this year’s National Western Stock Show in Denver and if you are at all planning to attend this fantastic celebration of the Wild West you might want to look at the tempting rates being offered by several downtown Denver hotels like the Oxford Hotel, the Hotel Teatro and the Grand Hyatt Denver all of which are conveniently located in down town Denver in close proximity to the National Western complex which is the site of this grand two week extravaganza.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Fun, North America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 13th, 2009 at 7:34 am
The hubby and I will be there in 2010! I can’t wait!