I have officially taken in my first Calgary Stampede.
It was a week filled with strange weather back home in the Border City, while in Calgary, it seemed to stay mostly clear for the festivities.
Read more: Column: A fair-y fun time
The first thing we did prior to attending the Stampede was take in a pancake breakfast. It was a busy affair in the CrossIron Mills Mall parking lot. There was plenty of entertainment there to keep folks busy prior to getting their breakfast.
The pancakes were good, but eating those hockey puck sausages left something to be desired. There was live entertainment, as well as Indigenous dancers and drummers, which made for a fun viewing experience. Of course, it wouldn’t be a pancake breakfast without vendors, and people lined up to get free stuff.
The day we decided to go to the Stampede grounds was Tuesday, July 7, which was free admission day. The thing I didn’t realize going in, if you want to attend rodeo events, that’s a separate pass from the grounds entrance.
However, if you were to get a rodeo ticket, that also gets you into the park, something I wish I knew ahead of time. We took the train into downtown, which was absolutely packed full for our trip there and back. I found myself chatting with random people on the train and the World Cup was still a hot topic.
Getting to the grounds, the line to get in was long. I don’t travel with much, so I had nothing for security to search and was into the event quickly.
As we got there early, the grounds weren’t quite packed yet, but the ride lines were already ballooning.
Hope and I had a caricature done. It was my first time getting one and the artist made me look far more handsome than I am.
My biggest pet peeve of the event was the lack of available water. It was a hot day and the crowds made it even warmer, meaning I’m paying $6 for a bottle of Dasani water.
The rides were quite fun and the vendors and exhibitors scattered around the grounds were a marvel to see. Paying for an unlimited ride pass seemed like a mistake as I got on two rides, something that spun us in seats pretty fast, and a large slide.
There was plenty of animals being shown off. Farms had displays and people were being educated on everything related to farming.
Before we got lunch, we decided to get some old-timey photos done. They were posed from the Victorian era. The photos turned out quite nice, and along with the caricature, will make for a nice keepsake.
Overall, the Calgary Stampede was about what I expected.
We ended the week with another pancake breakfast, this one closer to where we were staying, and I was sporting a tan. I’ve had a couple of days to look back on the event, and my conclusion is, I’d go back again. It was a thrilling experience and if I went back, I’d likely get tickets for the rodeo and the concert to take in the various sights.
I was very sad to miss out on the Lloyd Ex Fair, a personal favourite of mine, but I’m looking forward to the Vermilion Fair at the end of this month.
Read more: Column: The cult of social media
