Annual Events in Greeley, Colorado

The Colorado Farm Show

This event, which takes place in Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley, which is located in Weld County, is one of the largest and oldest farm exhibits in the country. Over the course of the past half a century and more, a large number of volunteers have worked together to present a variety of educational events and exhibitions that are of interest to the local agricultural community. It is the tale of how a local gathering attained the status of a well-known event on a national scale, one that a significant number of exhibitors consider essential to their business. And it is the narrative of how a yearly event, by expanding and improving itself, helps to improve the facilities that are utilized by other groups at other times of the year when those facilities are not being used by the annual event. More than 30,000 people from all around the region come to attend the 56th annual three-day event to learn more about agricultural goods, services, and machines. The event contains over 350 displays linked to agriculture. During those three days, there are a great number of instructive breakout sessions.

Greeley Stampede

A festival that takes place every year in Greeley, Colorado, is called the Greeley Stampede. This event is also known as the Greeley Independence Stampede. It takes place over two weekends in July and includes a rodeo that is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), bull riding and kids’ rodeos, country and classic rock concerts, a demolition derby, a televised 4th of July parade, a Carnival Midway, a Western Art Show, free stage entertainment, and loads of activities, food, and fun on the festival grounds. The Greeley Stampede was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in the year 2014.

The Greeley Stampede is steeped in history and lore, with some of its traditions reaching all the way back to the late 1800s. In 1920, the Stampede had become the largest fair or event that had ever been held anywhere in the globe. This community celebration, which was started to honor local potato farmers, has since grown into an internationally acclaimed festival that attracts close to 450,000 people annually from all parts of the United States as well as several countries outside of the United States, including Canada, Mexico, and England. Originally, the celebration was started to honor local potato farmers. The Greeley Stampede hosts one of the largest rodeos anywhere in the world and is the second largest fair in the state of Colorado.

In 1922, the event was formally named the Greeley Spud Rodeo and featured bucking bronc riding, fancy roping, a pie eating contest, a horse race, motorcycle and bicycle races, as well as a two-mile Model-T Ford “free for all” race. At the very first official event, there were approximately 2,500 people there, according to estimates. The Greeley Spud Rodeo came to an end so that the “Go West with Greeley” Rodeo could gain some notoriety on a national scale. This marked the beginning of the current period of the Greeley Rodeo. The name is taken from the famous line by the city’s namesake, Horace Greeley, who said “Go west young man. Go west.”

The right to hold the Greeley Independence Stampede was awarded to the city in 1972 as the result of a community contest. The event included professional rodeos, rodeos for children, concerts featuring country and classic rock music, a televised parade on July 4th, a demolition derby, a carnival midway, a western art show, and free stage entertainment, along with plenty of opportunities to eat and have fun. In the years 1917–1918 and 1942–1945, the rush was put on hold because of World War I and II. In the year 2020, the stampede was halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gus Roofing
149 E. 30th Street Greeley, CO 80631
(970) 356-1554