Cowboy Christmas joins forces with hunter/outdoor show

As much as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo has become a staple of Las Vegas' December calendar, so too has Cowboy Christmas. The shopping, entertainment and interactive bonanza has provided a great way for rodeo fans — and even regular folks interested in Western lifestyle — to fill up their daylight hours while waiting for the next go-round of the WNFR.

And just as the rodeo gets larger this year, the first of a new 10-year contract, Cowboy Christmas is getting bigger, too. The event is moving from the Las Vegas Convention Center's North Hall to the South Hall, where it is teaming up with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo to provide two floors of all things Western and outdoors.

"This is going to be a year in which we have the opportunity to take Cowboy Christmas to a whole different level," said Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events.

The event is more than doubling in space, from 400,000 square feet to nearly 900,000. Cowboy Christmas will be on the lower floor and the Hunter & Outdoor Christmas on the second level, with hundreds of exhibitors on each level.

The Hunter & Outdoor Christmas had something of a trial run last year. The event was typically a four-day expo held in February or March, but moved to the first four days of the rodeo in 2014, at the convention center's Central Hall. Steve Decker, vice president of marketing for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, said the event drew 28,000 people.

"We view it very much as a partnership, pooling our resources and their resources together to make a great experience," Decker said. "We've done expos for about 31 years. Last year was the first that we moved to December and that NFR timeframe, and we had tremendous success.

"This year, we transitioned to the full 10 days. We've taken [the Cowboy Christmas] Cowboy FanFest and spread it between both of our shows."

Christenson was happy to have that happen.

"The Hunter Christmas has a huge following, so it just made sense to join forces," he said.

Along with all the elements fans have come to expect of Cowboy Christmas — loads of shopping for unique products such as custom-made jewelry, Western wear, furniture, arts and crafts, and all the entertainment and interactive elements — there will now be all things hunting and outdoors to complement the event.

"For the folks in town for the National Finals Rodeo, hunting, camping and fishing rank as their No. 1 pastime. That's the No. 1 thing these folks do in their free time," Decker said. "This is a great opportunity to be in front of so many quality people."

The event will include an arena on the second floor, and of course, renowned PRCA barrelman Flint Rasmussen's Outside the Barrel show returns from noon-1 p.m. each day, along with autograph sessions with WNFR contestants throughout the week. Cowboy Christmas drew about 200,000 people last year, and Decker said with the two expos merging forces, both could draw that number or more this time around.

"With the arena and all the content on our floor, I expect we'll see similar traffic to Cowboy Christmas, with us both being in the same hall," he said. "We feel it's a natural fit. This would've been impossible without Las Vegas Events. They made it happen."

Las Vegas Events also announced that in addition to the free NFR Express nightly shuttles running fans from dozens of hotels to the Thomas & Mack Center and back, a new, free shuttle service will cater to the expo. The Cowboy Christmas Express will run from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each day from eight properties convenient to the bulk of fans — Aria, Excalibur, Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, The Orleans, South Point and Treasure Island.

And of course, admission to the Cowboy Christmas and the Hunter & Outdoor Christmas is free. For more information, including shuttle schedules, go to nfrexperience.com.