Horse Traffic
Is inconvenience trumping magic in Houston Rodeo parade?
I ended up watching the rodeo parade this year, much as many Houstonians have in years past — while trying to avoid it.
Downtown was virtually shut down and traffic was chaos to make way for thundering hooves, Oregon-Trail-looking covered wagons and an assortment of floats declaring the official start of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (although as any barbecue lover will tell you, the good stuff kicked off Thursday night).
Even the Houston Symphony isn't immune to the rodeo's all-encompassing effect - or its vise-grip on downtown. The symphony rescheduled its Saturday morning family concerts to the afternoon to avoid the parade. Concerts set for 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. were moved to 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. when the horses would have moseyed on by. The snafu happened because of a miscommunication between rodeo organizers and the symphony.
When I was a kid I used to watch the parade each year from elevated perches, climbing to take a gander at the annual display of Old West accoutrements.
The magic wasn't entirely lost, but I found the parade this year to be equal parts disruptive and endearing.
The ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run seemed to be a success — I ran into what seemed like the entirety of the race participants rehydrating on the patio at Onion Creek.
Starduster Lounge occupies a historic building on N. Main St.
Photo by Quit Nguyen
