HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – It’s time to dust off your Western heritage gear (although wearing it anytime is totally allowed here) and make sure your cowboy boots are ready to take the spotlight as we celebrate the national holiday. 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Watch live on ABC13 | Saturday February 28 at 10 am
The festivities will once again begin from downtown Houston, with decorated floats, bands, floats, bikers, and horses all setting off for the parade on Walker Street at Bagby Street.
The parade will wrap around Travis Street, Bell Street, Louisiana Avenue, and Lamar Street before ending there in Bagby.
The rodeo parade also includes a grand marshal, and this year, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan will take on that role.
Ruskan, 26, has performed numerous high-risk rescues, rescuing 165 children from raging waters during flash floods on Independence Day in the Texas Hill Country.
Ruskan continues active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard, supporting search and rescue operations across the Gulf Coast.
You can read more about Ruskan here.
Where is the best place to watch?
Make sure to arrive early downtown to secure a good spot.
According to the rodeo, the best places to watch the show are in Louisiana, from Belle to Lamar, and from Lamar, and from Louisiana to Smith.
Bagby and Walker Streets, from Sabine Street to Bagby Street, will be off-limits to viewing.
Street closures
As with many downtown parades, you should expect the streets to close that morning not only for the parade, but even before that due to the Rodeo Run, which starts at 8:30 a.m.
A quick note about the Rodeo Run: It will run across the entire parade route and can be seen on Allen Parkway from I-45 to Shepherd/Kirby.
The streets will reopen around 2pm after all events have concluded.
Parking
You may want to head to the public parking lots in the city center and theater district.
Keep in mind that each garage will have its own parking fees, which are also available to spectators.
Garages include: Alley Theater Garage, One Market Square Garage (Rodeo Mural), Lyric Center, and 1100 Smith Garage.
You can also use the parking lots available in Texas, Smith, Smith, Preston, Smith, Dallas, Smith, Clay, Walker, and Maine.
Tell me more about the show
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a tradition dating back to 1938, when the rodeo season was officially launched in the nation’s fourth-largest city.
ABC13 began televising the rodeo parade in 1959, using three cameras to broadcast the sights and sounds of the celebration to viewers across Southeast Texas.
Watch: The first broadcast of the rodeo on ABC13
In this 2014 news clip, ABC13 commemorates the 55th anniversary of the Downtown Rodeo by looking back at the first televised rodeo in 1959.
We have broadcast and live-streamed the show every year since, strengthening the long-standing relationship between ABC13 and RODEHOUSTON.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest livestock show and rodeo in the world.
This year’s rodeo will be held from March 2 to 22, 2026.
Watch: Scenes from the 1966 rodeo in Houston
Can’t wait for the rodeo until February 28th? Watch the 2025 preview in the video player above!
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