This day is legendary

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo lets everyone in for free on final day

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo carnival midway ride

A penny saved is a carnival midway ride earned.

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

The 2025 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is saying "Thanks, y'all" with a gift for visitors on its last day, February 8: Free admission.

“To celebrate the warm temperatures and sunny skies, we’re letting everyone on the grounds for free tomorrow,” said Stock Show president Brad Barnes in a February 7 statement. “So, shake off the cabin fever and come out to enjoy the final day of what’s been nothing short of an amazing 2025 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.”

There have been other discounts throughout the FWSSR's run, but this is the biggest of them all.

Still gotta pay for rodeo tickets. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Stock Show

Visitors will be able to enjoy the carnival midway, shopping, the Mattress Firm Petting Zoo, Children’s Barnyard, rabbit show, horse shows, and more for free.

Then there are the music acts: Walter Montgomery will headline in the Michelob Ultra Roadhouse, and Will Bannister will play The Corkyard - also free to attend.

The freebies, however, do not extend to Saturday's rodeo at Dickies Arena. Still gotta buy tickets to see the bullriders.

“Load up the car with friends and family and for only $20 to park, you can take the money you save with free grounds admission to get you a soft drink and corndog while you enjoy all the Stock Show offers,” Barnes says.

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Campus News

Univ of Texas bans drag shows after letter from Tarrant County judge

Photo courtesy of KVUE

The University of Texas has taken a hard stance against drag shows.

Drag performances will no longer be permitted at the University of Texas at Austin's campuses and independent institutions.

The decision was shared by UT's System Board of Regents chairman Kevin P. Eltife, who told KVUE that "university facilities, supported by taxpayers, will not serve as venues for drag shows."

The decision comes less than a week after a Tarrant County judge sent a letter to UT's System Board of Regents pushing for the ban.

"Rather than promoting anything to do with education, drag shows and related events denigrate women," Tarrant County judge Tim O'Hare wrote to the university. He wrote that these performances "highlight men reducing the perception of women to stereotypes and body parts."

In his letter, O'Hare cited an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on the first day of his second inauguration. The order states that federal funding is paused for programs that promote "gender ideology," among other changes impacting gender identity.

O'Hare stated that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also sent a letter to the university instructing it to follow the executive order.

Changes to drag performances, DEI initiatives at Texas universities
UT isn't the first Texas university system to ban drag shows from its institutions. This year, Texas A&M also halted drag performances from all 11 of its campuses statewide.

Back in 2023, Senate Bill 12 was passed by Texas lawmakers banning drag shows, especially around children. That same year, it was considered unconstitutional by a U.S. judge.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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