the Future Era for the National Western Complex

My husband and I enjoyed going to the annual National Western Stock Show Parade in Denver in early January --read that post here--and we decided to take another trip into Denver last week to visit the stock show grounds on the free admission day. We visited the stockyards before, years ago--click here to read that post--and we were excited to see the new construction that we had heard about being in progress.  The construction consists of more than 2.2 million square feet of new indoor and outdoor spaces is underway, designed to host innovation and research labs, farmers markets, international conferences, outdoor festivals, and everything in between.

The National Western Center is being built by the City and County of Denver in partnership with the National Western Stock Show and Colorado State University, along with programming support by History Colorado and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Information about the new buildings from the National Western Center website:

"The National Western Center will be a year-round, global destination for agricultural innovation, western heritage, and culture. People worldwide will convene at the National Western Center and online to lead, inspire, create, educate, and entertain in pursuit of global food solutions. The National Western Center will be the future home of the National Western Stock Show and exploratory learning opportunities through CSU. The National Western Center Authority is the nonprofit that will operate the campus; its offices are located at 4701 Marion St., Denver."

The signs on the construction fences gave more information and some photos of what the buildings would look like.

Construction is expected to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.

From what we could see the new buildings will be amazing amenities to the city of Denver!

We walked around to see some of the remaining outdoor stock pens...

...and we watched a few of the bull demonstrations and auctions.

We then walked over to see the two new Colorado State University -CSU- buildings called CSU SPUR.  CSU Spur hosts programming from many partners — including the Dumb Friends League, Denver Water, the Temple Grandin Equine Center, and the CSU College of Agriculture. It is home to real science and research and has laboratories, a veterinary clinic, a market, a museum, an art studio, classrooms, a garden, and an innovation center.

CSU Spur is always free and is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day during the National Western Stock Show (Jan. 6-21, 2024) for dog and cat surgeries, rooftop greenhouses, interactive exhibits, and special demonstrations. There was so much to see and do there--we know we will return again to do more.

You can watch a YouTube video at this link to see more about what wonderful things are happening in these buildings.

We then went inside the Stockyards Event Center where there were hundreds of vendor booths selling a multitude of goods and services during the stock show days.

There were also indoor stock pens inside the event center with animals from A --Alpaca on the right--to Z-- Zebu on the left.

I was amazed to see the girth of these two well-fed bulls!

We also added some girth to our waistlines by having a delicious barbecue lunch at one of the food vendors at the event center! I had brisket with coleslaw and a broccoli salad, and my husband had a sausage and ribs platter with beans and potato salad. It was all delicious!

We enjoyed our day out and look forward to many more visits in the future at the new National Western Complex. It really has made Denver remain the premier center of the West!

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The 113th National Western Stock Show Parade in Denver

On Thursday, January 10th, the 113th National Western Stock Show, held its kick-off parade in Denver, Colorado. This annual event takes place on 17th Street from Union Station to 17th Ave and Tremont Place in Denver.  My husband and I have enjoyed attending this parade almost every year since we moved to Colorado, six years ago.  It is a quintessential western experience and so much fun to see!

We usually drive to Denver a couple hours before parade time to get a parking space and to have lunch. Having some extra time this year we dropped into the exquisite and historic Brown Palace Hotel and Spa.   It is a Denver icon, established in 1892.

Click on the collage above to view it larger, and read about the history of the Brown Palace that was on two framed photos I saw near the reservations desk.

The Brown Palace's Christmas decorations were still on display in the lobby.   Formal tea was being served, complete with a piano player playing soft music.  I stayed in the Brown Place to celebrate my 60th birthday the year we moved to Colorado, and we also had tea there, which you can see in this post.  It was an enchanting experience!

The Brown Palace is truly a beautiful place to visit to admire its unique architecture and design and old-world elegance.

Although there are wonderful restaurants inside the Brown Palace, we have a tradition of attending the National Western Stock Show Barbecue lunch, held in the Wells Fargo building lobby, that benefits the 4H Club. It is a buffet serving delicious and filling selections of pulled pork on a bun, potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans, with the choice of either ice tea or lemonade and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

We then line up curbside on 17th Street to wait for the beginning of the parade.

The parade always begins with a procession of long-horned cattle accompanied by cowboys and cowgirls, keeping them in line.  The sight never ceases to amaze me!

One of the long-horns was a bit ornery!

Seeing cowboys riding down a usually busy car trafficked Denver street harkens back to the city's olden days.

There were many cowboys and cowgirls in the parade...

...in fact, I think cowgirls may have outnumbered cowboys this year!

One of the cutest riders was this little guy!

Denver urban developer and preservationist, Dana Crawford, who was behind the designation of LoDo, the creation of Larimer Square, and revamping Union Station, was the grand marshal of the 2019 parade.

I love seeing all the draft horse teams in the parade.

They are such magnificent horses!  A few years ago we attended an exciting Draft Horse Show at the National Western Stock Show Arena. You can see that post here.

There were other animals in the parade including service dogs in training, alpacas, donkeys and the Colorado State University mascot Ram.

This pretty Senorita was dancing in her traditional Mexican dress for the Mexican Rodeo float.




The video above, on my Mille Fiori Favoriti facebook page,  show her twirling her dress so beautifully.

The National Western Stock Show Parade had a marching band, rodeo stars. stagecoaches, covered wagons, a wild west show, vintage firetruck, and miniature horses.  What was missing this year were the John Deere and other tractors that paraded in the past...

...but a pink stretch limousine was a new addition!

Of course, the parade ends with the much-needed sanitation street sweepers cleaning up after all the animals that proceeded them in the parade. They usually get a big cheer from the crowd!   
The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo began on Saturday and runs with many different events until Jan. 27 at the National Western Center near Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard.  The exciting news is that this center is in the process of being renovated and expanded in stages--you can read more about that on this link. It will ensure the stock show tradition will remain in Denver for another hundred years!

PS:
Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes on my last post regarding my foot surgery that will take place this week. I know I'll be sidelined for a few weeks of recovery but will continue to blog. My husband is also feeling well and appreciates your kind thoughts. I think we both have many adventures ahead, God willing, and we will continue to enjoy each and every day.

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The 110th Denver National Western Stock Show Parade!

Hello! I'm glad to be back on my blog.  I am recovering well from eye surgery and appreciated all your well wishes and prayers. I was happy to be able to attend the 110th annual Denver National Western Stock Show Parade on Thursday, January 7th.  This annual event is the "kick-off" to the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, held at the National Western Center in Denver, Colorado. (All photos in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

The parade begins every year with a herd of Texas long-horned cattle being driven down 17th Street, from Union Station towards a turn off a block before the Brown Palace Hotel. It is a sight to see!

The cattle are well controlled by cowboys and cowgirls, as they walk by almost close enough to touch!  If you'd like to see a short video I took of the longhorns in the parade you can click here to watch it on my blog's Facebook page

This cowboy was ready to lasso any cattle that tried to getaway!

Click to enlarge to see the special guests and dignitaries in the parade.  The parade Grand Marshall was Rich Karlis, a football placekicker who played 9 years for the Denver Broncos.

There were many rodeo representatives and rodeo stars in the parade--this is just a small portion of them.

 The Westernaires were well represented.

The Westernaires are a nonprofit organization in Jefferson County, comprised of over 1,000 youth ages 9 to 19 that learn responsibility, self-respect, and leadership through horsemanship.

Is there anything that evokes the west more than cowboys on horseback?

Also included were the hard-working tractors of Colorado farmers and ranchers.

The Grizzly Rose country bar, nightclub and dance hall had a band on their float.

 The Grizzly Rose "Mountain Man" led his dogs and two burros in the parade.

Colorado State University is one of the sponsors of the parade. They offered a fundraiser barbecue buffet lunch, held at the Wells Fargo building prior to the parade, that my husband and I also enjoyed--coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans and pulled pork sandwich, with cookies for dessert.

Another large group of Westernaire youth

Westernaires has provided training in western riding, precision drills, and horse care for the past 67 years.

Next, was the Jefferson County High School Rodeo Team, which is comprised of around 40 boys and girls from various high schools around Jefferson County, that learn and compete in rodeo skills.

There was a little bit of levity towards the end of the parade when one of the ladies dressed in the ball suit to promote the lottery, slipped on some of the "horse droppings" and fell over. She was quite helpless getting up due to the awkwardness of the suit, but her co-marchers helped her up and she had a good laugh and kept marching as the crowd cheered!

That episode shows why the official end to the parade is the much-needed street sweepers.

After the parade, my husband and I walked over to see the Christmas decorations in the Brown Palace Hotel lobby. Formal tea was being served so I could not take too many photos.  I celebrated a birthday and had tea in the Brown Palace Hotel a few years ago. If you'd like to see that blog post, click here.

The day after the stock show parade the Denver area had another snowfall. This has been a very damp and cold winter so far in the West, due to the El Nino weather system, the USA is experiencing. I looked out my window in the morning to see this group of deer sitting in the snow under my neighbor's large pine tree. They seemed very content to wait out the snow and stay warm this way.  It reminded me of this quote:

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Patience seems like a good word for the New Year for me--I'm patiently healing and patiently enjoying the beauty of winter.  I hope your first days of 2016 have also been good ones!