Houston Rodeo: Several long-time vendors say they're not being invited back next year
HOUSTON - A number of long-time vendors at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will not be back, when it returns in February after they were told they're no longer welcome at the event that can make or break their businesses. The decision to cut their participation appears to come in favor of financial considerations that don't include them.
Last March, Commercial Exhibits Committee Chairman Brooks Bradford said there is a never-ending assessment of how to maximize the rodeo experience from, and for, the more than 300 vendors invited to sell their wares, "We identify areas that we need to improve, or areas that were a really big hit, that we need more space for."
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Dallas artist Steve Hawkins had been one of those vendors for 22 years, selling hand made sculptures of cowboy-themed art. In early August, he, and nearly two dozen long-term vendors received a certified letter from the rodeo saying they would not be invited back, citing changes to address commercial viability and sponsor requests.
"After 22 years at the rodeo, suddenly I was not invited back," says Hawkins.
For the Rockwall artist, the loss means tens of thousands of dollars worth of business, and the last reliable show for his business.
"I have a little Social Security, a little retirement, but this was a big deal because that's kinda' my bread and butter and play money," he says.
In a statement, RodeoHouston asserts this is an annual decision, saying, in part, "Each year, the vendor selection process is a difficult task, but one we take very seriously."
While the rodeo did not answer the question directly, Hawkins says he and other vendors who've been cut, think the decision comes down to who pays most to be there, while losing some of the show's unique qualities, in the process.
"You can't find a lot of people that do hand-made artwork, like the other vendors do, specific to the rodeo," says Hawkins. "They may be hurting themselves with some of the customers, when there's more and more commercial vendors, and there's fewer and fewer people like me."
Hawkins says the financial loss of missing the rodeo will hurt, but he's already taking steps to make 'some' of that money back. He's trying to get a vendor spot at the Fort Worth Stock Show in January, and he's started an Etsy-page where he hopes customers will still be able to find him to buy his works of art.