The Calgary Stampede & Exhibition
The City Goes Country for an Annual 10 Day Celebration in July
Calgary, with a population of just over one million, swells to double its size every year as tourists fill the city for the annual Calgary Stampede. Exhibitions, a carnival, daily rodeo and chuckwagon races, and Old West culture collide to create what has been deemed "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". Though the main events take place in Stampede Park cowboy attitude takes over the entire city.
Beyond the Grounds
Festivities begin with the famed Stampede Parade that runs through downtown. The streets are lined with locals and visitors, rain or shine, to watch as the procession kicks off the start of celebrations. As soon as the events begin so do a multitude of Stampede Breakfasts held throughout the city. These breakfasts are free at various locations and often include morning entertainment such as concerts. Check local newspapers for Stampede Breakfast dates, locations, and times.
Stampede Park
Around the grounds of Stampede Park are Exhibition Halls that house large tradeshows where everything from leather goods to beef jerky is for sale and modeling competitions and palm readers are just around the corner. Outside is the fairway with carnival games, a casino, rides, a grandprize show home, concert stages, the Indian Village, a few beer gardens, a children's carnival, a variety of food stands including the much in demand beef on a bun and mini doughnuts which are Stampede favourites, and much more.
The Coca-Cola Stage has become a huge attraction at the Stampede. Every night a famous alternative rock band or musician entertains a large crowd. The shows are standing room only as the stage is outside and the best spots are often taken early in the evening long before the headlining acts perform. Nashville North, another stage on the grounds, has daily country entertainers with famous headliners closing every evening.
The Stampede offers up something for everyone from city folk to cowpokes. The Bell Rodeo X has daily BMX biking and skateboarding shows on a street course and half pipe. In the Agriculture Discovery Centre there are exhibits to help educate people on the work and lives of those involved in the agricultural industry.
Rodeo and Grandstand Show
Along the fairway are the rodeo grounds. The Stampede Rodeo is a much anticipated event with daily tournaments culminating in Showdown Sunday where the biggest prizes in pro rodeo, over one million dollars, are given away. The cowboys, cowgirls, and livestock at the rodeo are there by invitation only meaning that the best athletes and animals in the pro circuit provide an exhilarating show. Later in the evening on the rodeo grounds the Rangeland Derby is held. During these chuckwagon races drivers and their teams compete in high-energy heats to win cash prizes with over one million dollars awarded to the winners.
Following the Derby is the nightly Grandstand Show, which is not to be missed. Having a new theme every year, the Grandstand Show is theatre on an outdoor stage with dancing, music, and exciting acts. As each night closes fireworks explode over the rodeo grounds giving one more thrill to a long day of 'Stampeding'.
The Calgary Stampede is a world-renowned fair that people from all over the planet come to the city to partake in. The homage to the Western lifestyle grows every year to include more enticing attractions, activities, and vendors. With so much to see and do each of the ten days of the Calgary Stampede affords a unique experience.
Information:
The Calgary Exhibition and Stampede
Located at Stampede Park on Macleod Trail South near the downtown core.
Phone within North America: 1-800-661-1767
Phone Internationally: 1-800-2610-1010
2008 Dates: July 4th to 13th
Park Hours: 11am to Midnight
It is possible to enter the grounds as early as 8am.
Admission:
Children 6 and Under - Free
Children Aged 7 to 12 - $7
Ages 13 to 64 - $13
Seniors 65+ - $7
