A Beginner’s Guide to Calgary’s Stampede

Kelly L. Macdonald | July 3rd, 2016

It is billed as the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” and anyone who has ever attended is not likely to disagree. For ten days in July the streets of Calgary are transformed into a combination rodeo, carnival, boardwalk and street fair that attracts thousands of Calgarians and visitors from around the world. The fun takes place on a colossal scale with the midway section alone taking more than a day to explore. The singing and dancing goes on well into the night and for at least a few days, everyone who experiences the magic of Stampede is a bona fide cowboy.

For over 100 years, Calgary has hosted this exotic party that links the town’s frontier past to the metropolitan city that we know today. This grand celebration in a city that is still coming-of-age starts with a huge parade and goes on to entertain more than a million people in a visible expression of local and national pride. The Wild West atmosphere is imbued with the scents and sounds of midway rides, champion farm animals, rodeo cheers and exotic foods. Where else in the world can you sample deep-fried Kool-Aid and scorpion pizza after attending the world’s largest pancake breakfast in a single day?

Like most of the world’s great parties, Stampede plays out on many levels and means different things to different people. There is the rodeo and there are exhibitors dealing with weighty issues such as human rights and global warming. Debauchery and private parties may run rampant, but there are also dozens of children’s parades. The event is now so embedded in the city’s landscape and lore that many residents participate in Stampede without ever setting foot on the midway. The small non-profit entity that organizes Stampede motors on the efforts of 2400 community volunteers who work year round to pull off the annual 10-day extravaganza.

Here are a few tips for the uninitiated traveling to their first Stampede. If you are coming from out of town, book your flight and hotel well in advance. Summers in Calgary can get very hot, so you will want to stock up on plenty of sunscreen and water. Never fear if you do not own a. white cowboy hat, Stampede’s traditional headgear of choice. You will find them for sale everywhere you go. The price of gate admission includes many activities and if you buy tickets to a concert in advance, it will include the gate admission. There are special “value” days during Stampede that include free and reduced admission for children and seniors. As you might expect, downtown parking is limited and everyone is encouraged to use public transportation.

Plan a visit to Stampede and experience first-hand the warmth, spirit and energy of our very young city. Shake hands with strangers who will greet you with a smiling “Howdy!” and enjoy free pancakes and irresistible mini-doughnuts together with fried everything and gourmet offerings from restaurants and food trucks. If it is your first rodeo, let’s hope it’s not your last!

Are you buying or selling a home in Calgary? Do you want an agent who has the enthusiasm and energy to get things done, with your best interests in mind at all times? Contact me at 403-617-8758, kelmacdonald@gmail.com or www.kellymacdonald.ca and let's make good things happen!

 

 

About Kelly Macdonald

Kelly Macdonald is a Realtor® with The Real Estate Company in Calgary, where she has been living (and loving it!) since she was 10. Kelly offers her clients a unique mix of youthful vigor, creativity and technical and design savvy on one hand, and professionalism and transactional expertise from her business degree and strong administrative background on the other. Kelly is also a devoted wife and mother of two, with whom she finds time from her busy schedule to play scrabble and walk by the beautiful lake of their home in Southeast Calgary.