Stampede

 It’s the morning of the Stampede Parade, the official kick-off to Calgary Stampede activities.  Like many of the parades in the US, the route is jam-packed with people.  Some of them have been out there since the night before to stake their claim to a certain spot on the route.  Lucky for us, we have reserved grandstand seating in a prime location.  However, we had to get up early to board the bus to arrive at the seating a good two hours before parade time due to streets being closed to traffic.  Good news, we were right in front of Tim Horton’s with fresh donuts, etc. and close access to restrooms.

Interestingly, there was a mini parade of sorts to whet the appetite to the main event.  Like all parades it was started with the traditional police siren escort, banner and grand marshal riding in an auto.  Let the fun begin!

Notice the White Hats?

Former and current Miss Calgary Stampede Queens

Royal Mounted Canadian Police minus the mounts

There are many bands, horses, floats, groups and specialty acts.  A lot of the bands were the drum, bagpipe and fife complete with kilt regalia.  There’s a lot of Scottish influence in this part of Canada.  Also interesting to me, the number of varied Asian influences.  To keep their culture alive there are several Asian clubs that are in Calgary and they each had their own unique presentations in the parade.

A group of Shriners on Segways

Stars of the parade are the horses and costumed riders

Did I mention they had horses?  As you might expect horses and more horses was very evident.  They had big horses, work horses, little horses, decorated horses and just plain horses.  Enough horses that they ran street sweepers along the parade in groups of three to pick up, you know, the evidence during the parade.  The sweepers were even decorated and were great crowd pleasers, as I’m sure the parade participants were very happy too, jus’ sayin’.  The sweepers in teams of three were strategically placed and after the parade was complete, they dutifully made sure the streets were auto and pedestrian worthy once more before the streets were returned to normal traffic.

Real stars of the parade the team of street sweepers all decked out

We visited the Stampede grounds that afternoon after the parade.  The best way to describe this is a State Fair type of atmosphere.  There are exhibits, animal shows, other entertainers, a midway full of games and food, vendor hall, rides and of course, daily rodeo activities.  The grounds are the former 1988 Olympic venue that was held in downtown Alberta.  The first afternoon was free admission for the populace so the crowd was intense.  From our perspective, I did not recognize a decrease in crowd size anytime we visited while we were there.

Entrance to Stampede grounds, that's me in White Hat on right

Of course, the major draw is the Stampede Rodeo.  There are daily rodeos that begin in the afternoon.  Our day to go had a lot of Texas cowboys competing.  So many, that it seemed as if it was Texas versus Canada day.  It was great fun to watch and even though our seats were high up in the grandstands, you could watch any one of three giant screens that would give you a close-up view and replay of the contestants attempts.  What was interesting was that there was not a Team Roping competition in this rodeo.  Even more interesting was the Bull Riding competition.  The bulls won the day this day.  There was only one rider who managed to stay on for the full eight seconds.

Saddle Bronc competition, big screen above stands too

Our seats at the Stampede Rodeo

Later in the day, after the stands have been cleared and the arena grounds properly prepared, the Chuckwagon Races are held.  This was my favorite event at the Stampede.  I had never seen this before and was certainly glad the rules were explained in advance.  It’s kind of like a sport you don’t know about the rules, it makes for a more interesting experience if you understand what to look for during the competition.  The daily heats and times are kept so the winning teams can compete in a finale.  Of course, the horses are the real stars.  These are highly trained thoroughbred teams that pull the wagons plus there are two outriders that are part of the race using specially trained horses for their role in the competition.  Quite exciting to watch!

Start of the Chuckwagon Race, loading the stove!

Amidst a flurry of activity they are off, don't knock over the barrel

Leaving the arena to round the track with outriders behind them

The finish and Team 3 in yellow wins this heat

After the Chuckwagon Races are complete for the day.  The arena is groomed to allow a portable stage to be brought in for the night’s extravaganza.  This is a sensory presentation with loud music, dancers, singers, fireworks, light display and a drone display to overwhelm your senses.  We didn’t stay for all of it because we did not want to wait on the train platform forever to catch the train back to our RV.  We saw enough to say we were there and able to beat the crowd.  The Calgary Stampede has now been checked off the bucket list.  Glad to have been there, done that, but probably would not go back.  Getting too old for that much fun!  More to come in the next posting, see you there.

This will get your attention for sure