Pueblo Wild West Fest, Pro Bull Riders (PBR) (dinner, pictures)

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by goyanks57

If you were entertained at that Wild West Fest, you really don't know what entertainment is.

Every year, Pueblo hosts all of these "great" events such as the west fest, boats, blues, and bbq, and street rod nationals. EVERY ONE OF THEM IS EXACTLY THE SAME!

You pay to get in, walk around, see tents where businesses are set up, have a chance to eat a turkey leg and a funnel cake, listen to a couple of no-name bands, see people getting drunk and fighting with each other (I worked at one of the booths and saw 2 fights), and at the end of it all you always end up saying "wow, that was nothing special." But in Josseppie's mind, these events are so great that people from all ends of the Earth flock to Pueblo year after year just to mill around and have something to do.

A rubber duck race? I understand that all of the money raised went to a good cause, but when people have nothing better to on a Sunday afternoon than line the riverwalk and cheer on a bunch of inanimate objects in a race, they really don't have a clue what life is like outside of Pueblo.

I understand that the Wild Wild West Fest is not a international destination like Disney World were people travel from all over the world to spend a week there taking in all the attractions and world class restaurants. However, it is a nice regional event tied to a bull riding event that was nationally televised live and will be broadcast around the world. It helps out local charities and has good fair food and for many people is a fun way to spend a day off. Now I, also, understand that Pueblo is different in that we are a event driven town so Pueblo has more events then you would normally find in a city of our size and people from Colorado and even surrounding states seem to want to drive to Pueblo to attend all the events. That is good for the local economy as it adds million of dollars every year.

[goyanks57]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

I understand that the Wild Wild West Fest is not a international destination like Disney World were people travel from all over the world to spend a week there taking in all the attractions and world class restaurants. However, it is a nice regional event tied to a bull riding event that was nationally televised live and will be broadcast around the world. It helps out local charities and has good fair food and for many people is a fun way to spend a day off. Now I, also, understand that Pueblo is different in that we are a event driven town so Pueblo has more events then you would normally find in a city of our size and people from Colorado and even surrounding states seem to want to drive to Pueblo to attend all the events. That is good for the local economy as it adds million of dollars every year.

Those "millions" of dollars that these events bring in are helping our economy sooooo much right now too....

[Josseppie]

My last post of the Wild Wild West Fest is of the PBR event. It was broadcast live and a lot of fun to be at.





I never pass up a opportunity to take pictures of my favorite event center. Every time I attend a event there I am amazed that Pueblo was able to get such a fantastic place.





This was the start. I loved the pyro technics. They said the night before that a music video was filmed here but I did not hear who it was.



The front.



I just liked the horses.



The winner!







You can't see the stop light but its about 2 blocks ahead. It's the corner of Thatcher and Prairie about 3 blocks east of my house. Yes, I live walking distance to the state fair but never walk.

I know this is not something to be proud of but there is so little traffic in Pueblo that when I see some I get excited.

[Josseppie]

The Wild Wild West Fest is going on in Pueblo and I went downtown to see it last night and while there I took some pictures.











I like this picture because it looks so urban.

[Let's Go Here]

I worked the Wild West Fest last year. To be frank, it was nothing more than a smaller version of the Colorado State Fair. It does pump a lot of money into Pueblo's economy, but I'm not sure if many visitors leave the event with a positive image of Pueblo in their head.

Not to go off subject, but the thing I found amazing about the Wild West Fest were the number of teenage girls I saw pushing around baby strollers. There were also a lot of gang bangers down there and I saw 3 fights in the 5 or 6 hours I was working.

I attended a similar event in Durango last weekend and didn't see one teenage girl pushing around a baby stroller or one fight. If I were an outsider visiting Pueblo for the WW Fest or the Boats, bands and BBQ event, I would leave scratching my head.

[McGowdog]

Thanks for covering this again Joss.

The wife and I had a good time down there today and tried some chile/chili.

Durango, not to go off-topic, but those impotent rasta lookin' fundie burnouts from Durango wouldn't want to put The bong down long enough to get one of those gray-haired granola eaters pregnant anyway.

[McGowdog]

Took a couple of pics from where we parked... by Black Hills;





Anybody want to see Valentine's Day Pueblo Colorado Style?

[CENTER][/CENTER]

[Josseppie]

Here are my pictures of the PBR event in Pueblo in 2011. It was live on national T.V. and was sold out.





This is the traffic before the game. I wonder what will happen as the state fair grows and they increase the capacity of the events center. The reason is the fair is located on the south side of town with no major highways so traffic can back up fast. When they have a event that draws thousands of people the roads just can't handle it. So when it becomes even larger with events that draw even more people it will be interesting to see what they city does to keep the flow of traffic going.

[Josseppie]

Here is a panoramic view of the events center.



I really like that Pueblo has a major events center. In the future it will be even better then they expand it.

[Josseppie]

The Wild Wild West Fest starts today and with the state grant for the convention center there is more excitement. I will attend it this weekend and post pictures.

This is from the Chieftain:

Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce members on Thursday received a preview of this weekend’s Wild Wild West Festival at the group’s monthly luncheon meeting Thursday.

“Home on the Range’ and other Western sing-alongs led by a mandolin-playing Paul Fanning, a performance by medicine man magician Doc EZee and a visit by a 2,000-pound Texas Longhorn brought smiles to the estimated 120 chamber members who dined under a large tent at the SRDA parking lot.

Adding to the celebratory atmosphere: This spring’s West Festival comes on the heels of Pueblo City Council’s vote Monday to approve a loan to get the ball rolling on the expansion of the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo. The expansion is set to begin early next year with the addition of a large exhibit hall onto the Pueblo Convention Center.

- See more at: Convention center vote adds to group