DENVER (KDVR) — The Greeley Stampede is usually a 12-day western celebration with over a quarter of a million people attending the events, but it didn't start that way.

The Greeley Stampede usually starts around the Fourth of July, and for almost two weeks, it hosts a parade with the Longhorn Drive through downtown, a carnival with rides and games, rodeos and concerts featuring big names like Ludacris with BigXthaPlug and Parker McCollum with Mackenzie Carpenter.

While it's now an internationally acclaimed festival, the organization said it first began in the late 1800s as a small community celebration to honor local potato farmers.

Greeley Stampede through the years

According to the organization, the Greeley Stampede dates back to the 1800s as a community celebration to honor potato farmers, but its first official festival began in 1922 when it was officially christened the Greeley Spud Rodeo.

An estimated 2,500 people attended the first official festival, which the organization said included events like bucking bronc riding, fancy roping, a pie-eating contest, a horse race and a Model-T Ford "free for all" race.

The events evolved over the years. While the organization said there were likely parades around Independence Day before, the first records of the Spud Rodeo-hosted parade started in 1925, where there were prizes for best decorated private automobiles and industrial floats as well as the best dressed clown.

To get more people to the event, the organization said the Greeley Spud Rodeo era ended and he "Go West with Greeley" Rodeo began, which came from Horace Greeley's famous phrase, "Go west young man. Go west."

The organization said it later turned into the Greeley Independence Stampede in 1972, which brought in a community contest, featured pro rodeos, country and classic rock concerts, a televised parade, demolition derby, a carnival and free stage entertainment.

The festival slowly built into a multiday event that sees an average of 250,000 visitors attending the 12-day event. There's anything from a carnival to headlining concerts. The Greeley Stampede now comes back for another year with the Longhorn Drive through the streets of downtown Greeley on Wednesday.