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The Calgary Stampede is a ten-day rodeo extravaganza that celebrates the spirit of the Wild West on a grand scale.
Held every second week of July in the 137-acre Stampede Grounds in Calgary’s Beltline District, the event is aptly billed as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.”
The brainchild of American trick roper Guy Weadick, the rodeo arrived in 1912 as a separate event of the existing Calgary Exhibition, and in 1923 the two attractions were combined to create the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (thereafter known jointly as the Calgary Stampede or the Stampede).
Nearly 100 years after its debut, the Stampede is the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and one of Canada’s major tourist attractions, with more than one and a quarter-million people visiting it in 2006 alone.
It boasts world-class rodeo competitions, midway attractions, casino-gambling tables, stage shows and concerts, agricultural fairs, First Nation exhibitions, and chuck wagon races.
To kick off this tribute to cowboy culture, the Calgary Stampede Showband leads a 4.5-kilometer parade through downtown Calgary on the opening day, even if it’s a rainy one.
In addition to the 350,000 visitors who attend the parade, there are two million more spectators watching via televised coverage.
The Wild West spirit is an infectious one, with both tourists and residents dressing in western-style clothing and many businesses decorating their establishments in a rodeo theme.
One good indicator of the festive mood is the healthy appetite of the participants.
Cowboys and cowboys-at-heart consume two metric tons of bacon and sausage in the ten days of the Stampede.
Riding bucking broncos—or Ferris wheels--is hungry work.
For cultural enthusiasts, there are nightly stage shows and concerts, as well as an urban beach that presents trendy fashion shows.
History buffs can view the many exhibits of cowboy-related gear or tour the Indian Village for demonstrations of authentic tribal craftwork and music.
Nature-friendly folks can appreciate the huge agricultural exhibition and livestock show.
Speculators can try their luck at the midway’s games of chance or opt for higher-stakes gambling at the Stampede Casino.
The midway also features all the other entertainment you’d expect of any amusement park, from water slides to carousels.
Despite these enticements, the Stampede’s main attraction is its world-renowned outdoor rodeo.
A 1925 silent film entitled The Calgary Stampede featured footage from the rodeo and ushered in an era of interest in the Wild West.
The rodeo competitions today draw 500 contestants from around the globe and award millions of dollars in prizes.
Roping, riding, and numerous other activities related to horses and cows take center stage.
There are blacksmith and cutting-horse contests, as well as wild horse racing and rodeo clown entertainment.
The Stampede introduced the first competitive chuck wagon races in 1923, and ever since it has remained a popular sensation, commemorated on a 1999 Canadian postage stamp.
The Calgary Stampede is truly the granddaddy of rodeo shows, celebrating a healthy ninety-fifth birthday and nearly a century of entertaining millions of Wild West fans.
A thousand events take place each year on the Stampede Grounds, yet renovations are currently underway to make the world’s largest outdoor rodeo even larger.
If you’ve never experienced the Calgary Stampede, saddle up and head for the rodeo this July. To obtain more information, visit
The Calgary Stampede
or call (403) 261-0101 or (800) 661-1260.
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