The National Western Stock Show presented by CommonSpirit Health is proud to announce Pete Coors as the Grand Marshal of the 2026 Stock Show Kick-Off Parade.
On Thursday, January 8, Coors will lead the iconic parade, marking the start ofthe 120th National Western Stock Show. The parade will start at 12 p.m. outside Denver Union Station and will march 12 blocks down 17th Street to Glenarm Place.
2026 Grand Marshal – Pete Coors
Coors, director emeritus of Molson Coors Beverage Company, will guide a procession including a spectacular array of more than 30 Longhorn cattle as well as horses and Western wagons. The parade marks the start of the “Best 16 Days in January,” which this year includes the grand openings of the 30-acre Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center and The Legacy, the National Western’s new world headquarters and home to all members of the National Western family.
“The Stock Show parade is an iconic event that brings the agricultural and Western heritage into the urban core of one of the West’s great cities,” said Wes Allison, President and CEO of the National Western Stock Show. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Pete Coors, whose contributions to the West and the National Western have been immeasurable, leading this year’s parade.”
Coors, born in Golden, formerly served as the president and chairman of Coors Brewing Company and chairman of the Molson Coors Brewing Company and MillerCoors. He is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors, who founded the Golden brewery in 1873. The world-famous brewery has been a bedrock employer and regional economic enginefor more than 150 years.
Coors has also been a community and philanthropic leader on many fronts. He was a driving force in bringing the Colorado Rockies ballclub to Denver. He is a longtime Western Stock Show Association board member. He serves as president and chairman of the Adolph Coors Foundation, whose grants span youth development, vocational training, integrative medicine, and public policy. He is a trustee and member of the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. And the avid outdoorsman and conservationist is a trustee and former national president and chairman of Ducks Unlimited.
Since 2016, Coors has served as chairman of the Honoring the Legacy capital campaign that’s raised $150 million to build the core facilities of the National Western’s new home at the National Western Center redevelopment.
Among other honors, Coors has received honorary degrees from Colorado State University, Regis University, Wilberforce University, and Johnson & Wales University. He was honored as the National Western’s 2011 Citizen of the West and bestowed the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s 2023 Western Visionary Award.
“This parade, and the Stock Show it celebrates, showcases our state’s rich agricultural heritage and its ongoing economic and cultural importance to Colorado and the West,” Coors said. “I’m thrilled to have the chance to serve as Grand Marshal and can’t wait to welcome everybody to the new Livestock Center and The Legacy during the Stock Show.”
Parade-goers, downtown businesses, and passersby are invited to the Stock Show Fair at McGregor Square following the parade, with McNicholas Miniatures therapy horses, Western royalty, a food market, and more.
