CenTex GuyFourth of July and rodeo
July 2nd 2008 00:15
The fourth of July is about celebrating freedom for the United States of America. While there’s many here that celebrate the holiday, so many more just see it as a day off work, where people get together cook out, drink and shoot fireworks.
Yeah, that’s about right too.
One longstanding Texas tradition is Belton’s Fourth of July PRCA Rodeo held at the Bell County Expo Center. This year marks the 84th annual Belton rodeo, and will run Thursday, July 3 through Saturday July 5, featuring all the top events from Bull Riding to Barrel Racing and all the top Cowboys and Cowgirls.
What makes this rodeo so special isn’t so much the July 4th celebration, but rather its longstanding history. It just started as a way for Bell County farmers and residents to get together, celebrate and help show off their livestock. It grew quickly from a somewhat unorganized gathering in an empty rocky area to a more organized event in its own arena.
The rodeo was a nighttime event (likely because of the summer heat), one of the only nighttime rodeos at the time. And when the Expo Center was built and the rodeo went under the air conditioning, that tradition didn’t change, as the event remained at night.
Now it’s a long weekend celebration with parades, carnivals and other events along with food, yes lots of wonderful bbq and goodies, so the entire family can enjoy it. And just as they did back when it first started, people still come from all over to celebrate. In fact, organizers estimate that at some point each year up to 30,000 people participate in some event (watching or participating in the rodeo, watching or participating in the parade, etc…). And that’s pretty big considering the population of Belton itself is about half that.
Yeah, that’s about right too.
One longstanding Texas tradition is Belton’s Fourth of July PRCA Rodeo held at the Bell County Expo Center. This year marks the 84th annual Belton rodeo, and will run Thursday, July 3 through Saturday July 5, featuring all the top events from Bull Riding to Barrel Racing and all the top Cowboys and Cowgirls.
Bullriding is the most popular event at the Belton PRCA Fourth of July Rodeo
The rodeo was a nighttime event (likely because of the summer heat), one of the only nighttime rodeos at the time. And when the Expo Center was built and the rodeo went under the air conditioning, that tradition didn’t change, as the event remained at night.
Now it’s a long weekend celebration with parades, carnivals and other events along with food, yes lots of wonderful bbq and goodies, so the entire family can enjoy it. And just as they did back when it first started, people still come from all over to celebrate. In fact, organizers estimate that at some point each year up to 30,000 people participate in some event (watching or participating in the rodeo, watching or participating in the parade, etc…). And that’s pretty big considering the population of Belton itself is about half that.
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