RGV Livestock Show and Rodeo kicks off Thursday with familiar favorites, upgrades

Mar. 7—MERCEDES — The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo is back this week with carnival rides, market lambs, handmade picnic tables, horticulture — and that's just a tease.

It all kicks off March 9 and will continue through March 19.

There's so much more to the livestock show — wandering clowns, games, the grand champion steer, market rabbits, etc.

This year, however, the show takes it to a new and refreshing level with a couple of first time introductions, said Mike Risica, president of the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show.

"Something different we're doing this year is what we call a blast pass," Risica said. "It's not really cashless, but you know, all the food and the carnival rides you have to use this blast pass. You go up to like a kiosk there on the facility — I think we've got nine buildings — and you go up and put your cash or credit card in, and it will spit you out what they call a blast pass."

This blast pass, Risica said, is about the size of a small credit card. You load whatever amount of money you choose onto the card, and you use the card to buy food, drinks and carnival rides.

Once the blast pass has used up all funds, the visitor can load more money onto the card and use it again.

"We're really excited about that, and so that's what's going to be new at the livestock show this year," Risica said.

And that's not all.

The livestock show has built a new entertainment pavilion thanks to a sizeable AEP grant.

"Instead of a big tent over there where the music goes, we've got a permanent building now, so we're really excited about that," Risica said.

So far, everything looks "fantastic" for this year's show, according to Risica.

"First of all, looking at the weather forecast, because that dictates a lot as far as attendance, it looks like it's going to be excellent," he said. "That's the first thing that looks great. Overall, we have been selling so many tickets online."

He said the bull riding events are almost sold out, and he emphasized that anyone wishing to attend must go online quickly to purchase those tickets.

Risica said he recently attended the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo to gauge this year's interest.

"It was crazy crowded over there," he said. "If it's any indication, we're going to have a blowout year. We had a record year last year, and I'm thinking this year it could set another record."

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