BARBECUE, A PARADE AND MORE
An army of pitmasters from all over the United States, Mexico, Sweden and beyond will soon fire up their smokers and grills at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with an array of recipes and techniques. They’ll all have one goal in mind: a 2024 World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest title.
From Feb. 22-24, more than 250 teams will compete in Texas’ — and arguably one of the world’s — most high-stakes barbecue competition, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary. The annual tradition will crown champions in multiple barbecue categories to properly kick off RodeoHouston.
“This year, our biggest focus is on our 50th anniversary,” said Ashley Smith, spokeswoman for the cook-off. “We’re going all out and bringing a lot of long-term teams back for this milestone rodeo.”
Pitmasters, including those from eight international teams coming from as far away as Australia and Brazil, have been honing their skills all year long.
Cook-off teams will be competing for prizes in three main meat categories: brisket, ribs and chicken. Other categories include Dutch oven desserts and an “open” category that allows teams to create a gourmet dish that shows off their culinary skills beyond barbecue. The Junior Cook-off Contest returns for its fourth year and features children and teens ages 8 to 14.
All categories are judged in private by barbecue aficionados hand-selected by the cook-off committee. The Junior, Open and Dutch oven categories will be judged Feb. 23. While the Junior awards will be announced at 11 a.m. on Feb. 23, the remaining category winners
will be revealed at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 on the Garden Stage.
While the actual competition tents on the cook-off campus are private (except for a limited number of invited guests), the public will still be able to see, smell and taste some barbecue. General admission includes access to live music, the carnival and access to the Rockin’ Bar-B-Que Saloon with its own patio.
The cook-off teams will also deck NRG Park out with whimsical barbecue décor as they make over their pits as fire engines, wagons, planes and even armadillos. More than 700 entries will compete for the barbecue categories.
This year’s cook-off schedule is 5-11 p.m. Feb. 22; noon-11 p.m. Feb. 23; and 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Feb. 24. Competition results will be announced at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Miller Lite Garden Stage.
Last year, attendance for the threeday cook-off was more than 214,000.
What you need to know
General admission tickets: $25 for adults (13 and older), $10 for children (3 to 12); children 2 and younger are free. A grounds season pass good for daily admission to the three-day cook-off is $55. See rodeohouston.com for more information and tickets.
Downtown Houston will transform into a Western heritage celebration ahead of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when the season kicks off with its annual Houston Rodeo Run and parade on Feb. 24.
Rodeo Run
The annual Rodeo Run will send a herd of runners out ahead of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade. Proceeds from the event benefit rodeo scholarships, and remote participants can join with the Sleep-In option to watch from home.
The race starts 9 a.m. at the corner of Walker and Bagby and ends on Allen Parkway near Eleanor Tinsley Park, where there will be a post-race party.
Houston rodeo parade
After the Rodeo Run, thousands will fill downtown streets for the annual Downtown Rodeo Parade, a tradition since 1938. The parade features floats, marching bands, horseback riders and trail ride wagons.
Buc-ee’s CEO Arch “Beaver”
Aplin III will serve as this year’s grand marshal. The parade will feature Buc-ee’s iconic beaver mascot alongside “Howdy,” the rodeo’s own mascot.
The route begins at Bagby and Walker streets, then travels from Travis to Bell and from Bell to Louisiana before turning on Lamar and ending at Lamar and Bagby.