TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The 101st annual Tucson Rodeo Parade returns Thursday morning, featuring more than 130 entries, 11 marching bands, colorful floats, historical wagons and mariachi.
ROAD CLOSURES: Major road closures Thursday for 101st Annual Tucson Rodeo Parade
More than 2,000 people will take part in the parade, which includes 85 wagons and buggies—all powered by real horsepower.
I spoke with Jennifer Ramos, a marketer for Arizona Lotus Corp, as she decorated one of her group's two wagons with a "Rodeo Country" theme. She also shared what she loves most about the Rodeo Parade.
"Crowd participation is exciting for me. So, getting people to clap and cheer for us and you're waving at everybody and everybody's cheering and it's just the excitement and the feedback that you get from the crowd. It's just so worth it," Ramos said.
The 130+ entries will compete in 21 prize classes ranging from Western Riding Groups and Historical to Most Comical and Multiple-team Hitch.
There are three special awards:
- The Curt Sullivan Sweepstakes Award (overall best entry)
- The Chairman’s Award
- The Judge’s Award.
There are also three special band awards named after past Parade Committee members:
- The Paul Grimes Award (outstanding music performance)
- The Bucky Steele Award (outstanding marching performance)
- An award for best performance by a small band.
The parade kicks off at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, starting at 12th Avenue and Drexel Road, moving east on Drexel Road to Nogales Highway, then turning north, ending at Irvington Road.
The parade is free to the community along most of the route, which is about 2.25 miles in length.
Parking information from the Tucson Rodeo and Parade Committee:
- Parking is available to the public adjacent to the grandstands at Drexel and Liberty; and at Rudy Garcia Park before 8:30 a.m., when Tucson Police close the streets to accommodate the Tucson Rodeo Parade. Parking is $5 per vehicle.
- Ticketed grandstand seating that includes pre-parade entertainment is also available near the beginning of the parade on Drexel Road.
- Pre-purchased grandstand tickets are $15 each for adults and $10 for children aged 12 and under.
- Tickets are available here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
