The Greeley Stampede grew from a 1922 rodeo for potato farmers

In 1922, brothers Fred and Warrack Norcross helped pull together a one-day “Spud Rodeo” to honor the potato farmers who were then a big part of the local economy. About 2,500 people came out. That small Fourth of July gathering is the seed of what Greeley now calls the Stampede.

A century later it looks different. The Stampede runs nearly two weeks around Independence Day and, by the event’s own count, draws more than 450,000 people to Island Grove Regional Park. The lineup mixes a PRCA rodeo and Xtreme Bulls with a SuperStars concert series, a parade, a carnival, a demolition derby, and fireworks. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted the Stampede as a rodeo committee in 2014, which puts it in good company among the country’s long-running Fourth of July rodeos.

If you want to go, the catch is the calendar. Dates shift slightly each year (recent runs have landed in late June into early July), and a half-million visitors means hotel rooms and rodeo seats fill early. It is worth booking lodging and tickets well ahead rather than deciding the week of. Check current dates, the full schedule, and ticket details on the official site at greeleystampede.org.