What can I say about the Calgary Stampede that hasn't already been said? Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth? It certainly is. The Stampede isn't a tourist attraction; it is
the tourist attraction in Calgary. Though Calgary has many other things which attract many thousands to the city each year, it is The Stampede which draws tourists in the hundreds of thousands.
Solstice Magic: A Calgary Stampede Adventure is an adventure fantasy set in:
the magical world of cowboys, rabbits, and Ukrainian goddesses that unfolds when Zo's gruff baba from Ukraine arrives with her savage Caucasian Ovchorka dog. The ensuing chaos of clashing cultures catapults the characters into the extreme sport of rodeo at the Calgary Stampede. There, Vince Lapin, bull-rider extraordinaire, meets up with Susie Lago, protégé of Zo, and the outcome for the other rodeo contestants as well as the animal athletes changes stampede history. Good thing Zo has a best friend with an attractive older brother to soften the trauma. SOLSTICE MAGIC is magical realism for everybody who ever wished to be more than they are.
From Amazon
The book is available as a 258 page paperback or in Kindle format. Read a
Book Review.
While the Stampede occupies the Stampede Grounds for 10 days of the year, the grounds are open, with no admission charge, essentially every day the rest of the year as many events are staged there through the year. The coordinates given are at the approximate location of our grandstand seats the last time we attended the Stampede, in 2010.
K was lucky enough to grow up 30 miles from the
Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth, and it
really was a
big deal. It was
the event of the year in southern Alberta. It has drawn a million visitors annually.
Since 1923 it has been the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, with the annual Calgary Agricultural Exhibition and the Stampede becoming one. The first rodeos in Calgary were rather impromptu affairs taking place in the late 1800s. It was left to
Guy Weadick, American Cowboy and Trick Roper, to get the Calgary Stampede ball rolling in 1912. It has been an annual event since. In 2012, during the 10 day Stampede,
1,409,371 people entered the Stampede grounds.
The Stampede is more than just an event to Calgarians. It is an identity. Known worldwide, in any corner of the world, if one says "Calgary" and the listener knows anything at all about the city, they will usually reply "Stampede". Dignitaries the world over own cherished
White Cowboy Hats, presented upon their arrival in Calgary, a tradition that actually started with football, the
Calgary Stampeders, and the
1948 Grey Cup... ...but that's another story. The hats are made in Calgary by
Smithbilt and are symbolic of Calgary's "Cowtown" and "Stampede" heritage.
Stampede time is celebration time, time for free pancake breakfasts in every corner of the city, square dancing in the streets, free music festivals scattered about, riding horses down Fifth Avenue, wearing the obligatory western garb to "work" (not much actual
work gets done in the city of over One Million people during Stampede), barbecues, cowboys, First Nations Powwows, parades, parties, fireworks, screamin' on the Midway Rides, Chuckwagon Races, Horse Racing, Rodeo, Agricultural Fair, and just general whoopin' an' hollerin' for 10 whole days. If this doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, then stay far, far away, for the din could keep you awake for 240 straight hours.