Hondo Rodeo Fest Debuts in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona
Yee-haw! The inaugural Hondo Rodeo Fest made its debut in Phoenix in November bringing a mix of Western rodeo and country music to Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix. Yes, you read that right … they brought a rodeo arena inside the baseball stadium, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. (Don’t forget the stadium’s bag policies for a stress-free experience). The three-day event running from Thursday to Saturday was a first of its kind indeed.
The Hondo also took over the streets outside the stadium for the general public to experience their Stillery Street Festival. It’s a family-friendly market showcasing Western-themed wears and jewelry, food trucks, a petting zoo and live music with country-themed DJs throughout the day and night. Inside, the rodeo hosted exhilarating competitions including steer wrestling, barrel racing, roping, and bull-riding before transforming into a concert venue.
A stellar line-up of country acts included Zac Brown Band, Hank Williams Jr., Whiskey Myers, and legendary Brooks & Dunn. The schedule began with the street festival opening at 2 p.m., doors opened at 5 p.m., rodeo acts kicked off at 6 p.m. with musicians beginning at 8:30 p.m. and headliners at 9:45 p.m. On top of all of that, top rodeo athletes competed for a $1 million prize pool!
Below we’ve highlighted some of our favorite parts of the event and what we felt needs some work for next year.
Pros:
– Free outdoor festival for local public with unique shops ranging from custom Cowboy hats, leather boots, and Western vests and jewelry.
– Great views from every seat in the venue of the rodeo happenings
Cons:
– $8 snack-size bags of Fritos (who sponsored the event), compared to getting a full-size burger for $11. An activation was set up to spin a wheel and win a free Fritos hat or bag of chips, guess we should’ve taken that route instead!
– Switching from the rodeo portion to the music portion. There were only two aisles that allowed access to floor for when the rodeo ended. Many people left their seats to rush and line up in aisles during the last few bull rides of the night which made it nearly impossible for those seated in the “access” sections to get up and leave without having a LONG wait to get back to their seats or even join the queue to access the floor, which was mainly GA…. That said, spring for a VIP pass if you can which includes all three days, access to the street festival experience, seats at the rodeo, and special access to viewing areas for the music acts. Live and learn ya’ll!
