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Fresh from concluding its 90th anniversary event, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) has released its dates for 2023, Houston-based media outlets reported. According to the HLSR official Twitter account, the 2023 version of RodeoHouston will be held from Feb. 28 to March 19, 2023.
"Save the date! We can’t wait to welcome y’all back in 2023!" organizers tweeted.
RodeoHouston returned as an in-person event this year after COVID-19 abruptly ended the 2020 festivities at their peak and rendered last year's affair to just a few events that were held virtually. A press release said that the 2022 celebration, which was held from Feb. 24 to March 20, drew more than 2.4 million visitors to NRG Park.
Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that the 2023 HLSR will commence with The World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest from Feb. 23-25, 2023.
The station reported that a date as to when tickets will go on sale to the public hasn't been released.
Harris County lowered its COVID-19 threat level from red, the most dangerous, to orange, an indication that the illness still posed a significant threat but infections and hospitalizations had dropped, before RodeoHouston's return in February.
According to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC, the first in-person HLSR in two years featured highly anticipated performances from Houston rapper Bun B and legendary country singer George Strait, whose sold-out concert on the night of March 20 capped an event that brought in a total of 1,301,529 people into NRG Stadium during a 24-day span.
More than 34,000 participated in the livestock and horse show competitions, and unaudited preliminary totals revealed that junior auction sales totaled $20,205,413, KPRC reported.
HLSR president and CEO Chris Boleman called 2022 "a milestone year."
“Opening our gates and welcoming fans back in 2022 to celebrate our 90th anniversary has truly been an amazing feeling," Boleman said in the release. “Thank you to our 35,000 volunteers, donors, sponsors, community partners and guests who support our charitable mission of supporting Texas youth and education.”