The Stockyards Beef Festival Will Make Its Debut at This Year's National Western Stock Show

Since its origin in 1906, the National Western Stock Show has become one of the largest events of its kind, celebrating agriculture, ranching and cattle with rodeos, horse shows and various educational programs. After a subdued return in 2022, the organization hopes to come back bigger and better than ever this year — with a new special attraction: the inaugural Stockyards Beef Festival on Thursday, January 12.

The idea started with the Association of Ranchers, which partners with and supports the National Western organization. “The lightbulb went off when we were visiting fellow ranchers in California who also kept vineyards,” says Brent Lonker, leader of the Association of Ranchers. “National Western is all about its cattle, but we realized that nowhere can people come and taste the beef.” Once the idea was hatched, the ranchers jumped into action with the full support of National Western organizers.

The vision is to showcase beef products to end consumers — many of whom might not be as interested in the cattle and horse shows celebrating the lifestyle that happens upstream of the beef. While ranch life isn't for everyone, a lot of people are interested in high-quality, tasty beef, and this new festival is a place for ranchers to be able to directly share their stories with that audience.

“The explosion of the farm-to-table segment means people want to get the beef where it’s raised. This festival could serve as a place to foster this relationship, and what better place to kick it off than the National Western Stock Show?” asks Lonker.
Taking a cue from the trip that inspired the festival, every beef offering will be paired with wine. There will be five stations at the event, each showcasing a different family-owned ranch and a different cut of beef. Certified Hereford Beef will be serving a tri-tip paired with a California Cabernet and prepared Santa Maria style, a regional California barbecue style where the meat is seasoned and slow-cooked over red oak. Connealy Angus Meat Market, which is based in Nebraska and has a herd of purebred Angus cattle, will be preparing bone-in ribeye to serve as kabobs with Rune Wines from Sonoita, Arizona. There will even be a local Denver winery at the festival: Spero Winery's vino will be served alongside a wagyu brisket prepared by Legacy Custom Meats out of LeGrange, Texas.

A bread-and-cheese table will available for snacking between meat tastings, along with a dessert table of cookies, brownies and cupcakes. “There will be enough food to keep you well fed,” Lonker promises. Throughout the event, there will be live bluegrass music performed by The O’Donnells, who are coming in from Rockvale, Tennessee.

To cap off the event, there will be a Females on the Front Range auction, where attendees can watch the bidding for four top-end heifers.

The ranchers hope this event will have mass appeal to folks in Denver, and will attract people who want to learn more about cattle lovingly raised by multi-generational, family-owned farms. “There’s a connection between the rancher and his land and his cattle that few understand,” Lonker explains. “The way we manage these cattle [is] sometimes better than we do our own families.  All the beef is natural — no hormones or antibiotics.”

And you can taste the result. “If you like beef and wine and bluegrass, this is the place to go,” Lonker says.

The inaugural Stockyards Beef Festival starts at 5 p.m. Thursday, January 12, at the National Western Complex. Tickets are $50 per person and available online.