Area to showcase Anthony Lucia, Flint Rasmussen and Shane Minor; host the RMEF Calcutta
From Dec. 5 – 14 at The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas, the Ariat Rodeo Live Stage will bring live talk show style entertainment to rodeo fans. Free to the public, Cowboy Christmas is open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (PT) daily at the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall and features more than 350 exhibitors and additional interactive elements for rodeo fans.
Each day, the Ariat Rodeo Live Stage, located this year on Level 2 of the South Hall, will feature the following (all times PT and subject to change):
Live with Lucia – starting at 10:15 a.m.
Conserving Country with hosts Shane Minor and Garrison Allen – starting at 11:30 a.m.
Outside the Barrel with Flint Rasmussen – starting at 12:30 p.m.
RMEF Calcutta – starting at 1:30 p.m.
Popular rodeo announcer and personality Anthony Lucia kicks off the daily schedule at 10:15 a.m. Also returning for a fifth year is the live-music and variety show Conserving Country with host Shane Minor, joined this year by new co-host Garrison Allen. Rasmussen, who has been a staple at The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas and continues to deliver laughs, entertainment and special guests during the ten days, brings his unique persona to life each day with ‘Outside the Barrel.’ The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Calcutta will culminate the daily schedule.
To add to the overall experience, RMEF’s Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo will be co-located upstairs in the South Hall with The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas. Over the past 37 years, Cowboy Christmas has attracted more than 5.5 million attendees.
In addition to the Ariat Rodeo Live Stage, The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas will include the following main anchor displays and programming elements:
Wrangler Rodeo Arena – For the first time, the Wrangler Rodeo Arena, the home of the YETI Junior World Finals, will be located in a large, tented area south of the Las Vegas Convention Center in the Bronze Parking Lots. Featuring a seating capacity of more than 1,100 fans, the arena will host a variety of events and competitions. The YETI Junior World Finals will feature contestants 19-years-old and younger competing in many of the events the pros take part in at the Thomas & Mack Center, including bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, girls and boys breakaway, team roping, tie-down roping, pole bending and barrel racing.
Cowboy Commons – Where Friends Gather – This new area in 2024 will be located in the remodeled east lobby of South Hall, Level 1. This eclectic area will offer a variety of elements for attendees, including a boot shine, hat bar, the Rodeo Saloon and a stage for acoustic performances and the RumpChat Podcast. Also re-locating to this area is The Cowboy Channel Stage, featuring a daily line up of engaging daily programming that includes Zero In, Rodeo Deep Dive Panels and the NFR Tailgate Party, among others.
Cowboy Christmas Village presented by Clint Orms – This festive area, located on Level 2 of the South Hall, will include photo walls, a custom 12-foot Christmas tree with a tiny train and village, daily appearances by Santa Claus from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and more.
Bites and Brews – Located on Level 2, Bites & Brews features a variety of custom food and beverage carts.
The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas is the only official gift show of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Sold out for 359 consecutive performances in Las Vegas, the Wrangler NFR attracts the top 15 contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding. Under the new contract with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that runs through 2035, the purse in 2024 is more than $12.5 million. Qualification is based on the 2024 PRCA World Standings.
For more information on the Wrangler NFR and The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas, please visit NFRexperience.com or through social media at /LasVegasNFR and use #WranglerNFR. For the latest Pro Rodeo news and Wrangler NFR coverage, please visit prorodeo.com or through social media at @PRCA_ProRodeo.