Cotton Q Club and Its VIP Golden Pony Lounge Take Houston Rodeo Partying to New Heights and Billionaire Tilman Fertitta Approves

It was the biggest, baddest, grandest bash of any of the over-the-top corporate parties that fill the NRG grounds during Rodeo Houston’s barbecue cookoff. Think 10,300 square feet of party space, 3,000 pounds of barbecue meats, 22 barbecue specialists with 16 helpers, Grammy nominated entertainers, crystal chandeliers, velvet draping, 7-foot-tall golden mosaic pony sculptures draped in blankets of roses, a VIP private lounge and more.

No one would expect anything less from Cotton Holdings Inc. which served as title sponsor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest for the second consecutive year and which has been competing in the cookoff for close to a decade.

In 2022 the disaster and infrastructure support company made its mark with a massive luxurious party “tent.” This year, the Cotton Q Club raised rodeo barbecue partying to even greater heights with an expanded footprint large enough to host 650 guests each of the three nights and the addition of the exclusive VIP Golden Pony lounge. Only top tier guests, limited to 50 each night, were given the gilded key that opened doors to the swank inner sanctum. Among them was billionaire Tilman Fertitta who was welcomed all three nights of the cookoff celebrations by Cotton Holdings founder and CEO Pete Bell. There was simply no cooler place to be.

The opening night party saw a rocking contingent of more than 650, dressed to the nines in fancy Western wear for the evening that featured Grammy-nominated artist Cole Swindell on stage.

Joining Cotton Holdings as partners in this year’s event were Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman’s Breggy Bomb sauces, Casa Del Sol tequila and hat designer Teressa Foglia, who created a rodeo line specifically for Cotton Holdings.

Among Cotton Holdings’ portfolio is Cotton Culinary, which prepared a feast for the opening night throng. Executive Chef Wade Schindler oversaw the bash that began with fried oysters, Figgy Piggy (the People’s Choice Award Winner from 2022 Best Bites Competition), and Sticky Icky Quail Bites. The food lineup continued with a carving station with RC Ranch Ribeyes and Breggy Bomb El Jefe, White Cheddar Lobster Mac n Cheese, Twice Baked Potato Casserole, Colorful Roasted Root Vegetables and Green Beans, freshly baked rolls and Signature Bread Pudding with Jack Daniels Cream Sauce.

“The energy and pride the cookoff brings to our community are electric, and knowing that it all goes to supporting our students through scholarships makes it so incredibly worthwhile,” Bell tells PaperCity. “And as someone who loves to entertain and host, whether it is family or clients, the opportunity to celebrate how far we’ve come by hosting our family, partners and friends at the Cotton ‘Q Club is pretty unbelievable, to boot.”

As a competitor in the barbecue cookoff and host to more than 1,200 over three days, Cotton Holdings put its 288-square-foot pit to work as well as the company’s barbecue crown jewel an SSE Old Hickory rotisserie. In addition to that 3,000 pounds of quality meats (brisket, turkey breast, sausage, sizzling fajitas, and more), Cotton Q Club grilled several hundred pounds of Texas-raised, sustainably-farmed R-C Ranch Wagyu ribeyes.

“As a lifelong Houstonian, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has always been near to my heart,” Bell says. “From visiting the carnival with family and friends as a boy, to the first time our organization got to participate in the legendary World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest so many years ago, it’s more than just a tradition to me.

“Even more humbling are the memories I carry of going as a child with my mother, who was on a barbecue team of her own, to today being the title sponsor of the Houston tradition that she so loved.”

PC Seen: Quanta Services CEO Duke Austin, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO Dr. Chris Boleman and Randi Boleman, Los Angeles-based influencer Erica Pelosini, Cotton Holdings CFO Bryan Michalsky, Cotton Holdings Global Disaster Solutions president James Scaife, Cotton Logistics president Johnny Slaughter, Cotton Commercial USA executive vice resident Russell White, Cotton Holdings executive vice president of marketing and branding Zinat Ahmed; Bailey Bell, Hunter Bell, Lara Bell, Chita and Lane Craft, Whitney Kuhn Lawson and Marc Lawson, and Heather Almond.