Kicking off rodeo season across Western North America, from Texas to Canada!

Canada goes to Texas… or does Texas come to Canada?

I did get the opportunity to talk about our Calgary Stampede while down there to quite a few vendors!

At first glance, it might actually be hard to tell we are not at our local Stampede event.

Without focusing on the finer details, you could easily mistake the scenes in this album for the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, Canada. But this is the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in Texas, USA.

So why share a Texas album on a Canadian travel site?

Because this experience felt surprisingly like home.

From the friendly people, to the western wear, to the incredible food, vendors, and a midway that absolutely makes your jaw drop, the similarities are undeniable. It’s a reminder of just how connected western culture is across borders.

Of course, there are a few differences…

• Space — Texas does everything big. With roughly 350 acres compared to Calgary’s 200, there’s more room to roam (and a little more elbow room too).

• Variety — With that extra space comes even more food options, rides, shopping, and experiences to explore.

And here’s where things get interesting...

The Houston Rodeo runs for 23 days, while the Calgary Stampede packs everything into just 10 days.
So you might expect attendance to be wildly different… right?

Not exactly.

2025 Attendance
Texas: 2,735,695
Calgary: 1,470,288

But when you break it down per day:

• Houston ≈ 118,900 visitors/day
• Calgary ≈ 147,000 visitors/day

That means Calgary actually sees more people per day! And that is something that might surprise a lot of folks!

Just a few fun facts from this Canada vs. Texas rodeo comparison.

Keep an eye out for the full blog, where I dive deeper into the similarities, differences, and what makes each of these iconic events so special. All from a Canadian Adventure Seeker’s perspective.