HOUSTON — RodeoHouston announced Wednesday it's cancelling this year's festivities and said it will return in 2022.
For Denise Pullen, it was a big blow.
“I do around 10,000 (shoe) shines in 20 days. (At) Some of my airports I don’t do 10,000 shines in a year," she said.
Cancelling the Rodeo means cancelling her biggest event of the year.
“My company actually (operates out of) four major airports across the United States which have also been shut down and I also did 40 conventions a year which have also been shut down," Pullen said.
The impact goes beyond shining boots.
“Normally well north of $100 million of economic impact every year," Michael Heckman said.
He's the CEO of Houston First. That figure includes money Rodeo attendees spend on hotels, restaurants and other entertainment while they’re in town. Heckman said that while the first half of 2021 the Houston convention scene is noticeably quiet, the end of the year is looking up.
“We will have a record number of city-wide conventions that are currently booked that we believe are going to hold from July through December," he said.
For Pullen, it’s a year to focus on how she started 37 years ago.
“I started at the bottom with no customers. It’s just time to reinvent ourselves and figure it out. There’s still boots to shine and shoes to shine," she said.
Vendors like Pullen have been able to secure government loans to stay afloat. She’s also working smaller shows, riding it out until the rodeo returns next year.