2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade rolls through downtown, celebrating Western heritage
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houstonians gathered together on Saturday dressed in their Western best for the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade.
The festivities kicked off from downtown Houston, with decorative floats, marching bands, wagons, trail riders, and horses all stepping off for the parade on Walker St. at Bagby St.
The parade trailed around to Travis St., Bell St., Louisiana St., and Lamar St., then finished at Bagby.
This year's grand marshal was U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan.
Ruskan, 26, executed multiple high-risk rescues, saving 165 children from raging waters during the Independence Day flash floods in the Texas Hill Country.
Ruskan continues to serve on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard, where he supports search-and-rescue operations across the Gulf Coast.
You can read more about Ruskan here.
Tell me more about the parade
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade is a tradition dating back to 1938, officially launching rodeo season 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: ABC13's first Rodeo Parade Broadcast
We've been broadcasting and livestreaming the parade every year since, solidifying the long-term relationship between ABC13 and RODEOHOUSTON.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world.
This year, the rodeo runs from March 2-22, 2026.
WATCH: Scenes from the 1966 Rodeo Parade in Houston
Can't get enough Houston Rodeo? Watch the 2025 parade action below!
