January in Colorado means it is time for the National Western Stock Show! This year the 109th annual NWSS will kick off with a parade on January 8th. Chauncey Billips will be serving as the 2015 parade Grand Marshal and will lead the long train of cattle, stagecoaches, marching bands, horses, tractors and more through downtown Denver. The parade will begin at 12 noon at Union Station and will travel down 17th St to the Wells Fargo building where the annual NWSS barbeque lunch will be held.
Each year thousands flood the Denver Coliseum, National Western Events Center, and Stadium Arena for several days of entertainment at the National Western Stock Show. The two week long event hosts several different types of shows varying from Westerners to Rodeo Clowns to Wood Carving. In addition to the ticketed shows there are hundreds of vendors offering food, saddles, art, jewelry and anything else one could imagine. There are more than 10 different types of animals on display in many different exhibits; one of the most popular being the wide range of different horse breeds, usually totaling around 15,000 animals.
The first NWSS took place in 1906 and only lasted for six days with a total of about 1500 attendees. Attendance has more than quadrupled over in the past 107 years of the event, reaching its peak with over 720,000 attendees during its 100th anniversary.
View the entire 2015 schedule of events
The NWSS is a charitable organization that provides scholarships to its participants. Those who qualify are involved in educational programs focusing on agriculture and medicine in rural areas of the country. There are currently 74 scholarships funded by the NWSS ranging in value from $2,500 to $6,000 per year and are offered at a total of ten different schools in Colorado and Wyoming.
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