Billed as the greatest outdoor show on earth the Stampede
doesn’t disappoint. We picked up tickets to the rodeo for about the equivalent
of £10 and this gave us four hours of the rodeo. The seats we had weren’t
covered so my advice is to have a sun hat and lots of water.
Taking our seats
we brought a bag of delicious mini doughnuts and sat back to take it all in. To
start off proceedings was the RCMP musical ride and then the introduction of
the representatives of the Stampede. Now
I wasn’t sure about the rodeo before I went but I have since read up on all the
restrictions and veterinary testing and although still not something I am
completely comfortable with, I appreciate the animals are well cared for and
respected.
It is worth noting that although entrance and rodeo tickets
can be cheap, food at the stampede is more on the expensive side. I opted to
have a fresh off the grill corn on the cob. Huge and delicious but slightly
pricey for what it was. It is also important to note for visitors that if you
want to go into the bar areas you will need to have two pieces of ID with you.
Next we went for a walk through the grounds to the Native
Canadian Village. We were welcomed with the offer of a dance where people of
all nations joined together in friendship. After this you were welcomed into
the tents and to speak with people about their beautiful clothing and crafts.
The whole area had a nice relaxed feel and
the people were very friendly.
Native craftwork was available to buy as well. From here we wandered back to
the agricultural area to see the animals. We ended up coming out of this area
with lots of free things, such as pencils, note boards, recipe cards and
magnets about manure. There was a theme of field to plate and so you could opt
to stand on a cattle scale as someone worked out how many beef burgers you
would make. 
There are plenty of animals to see and if you keep walking,
via the children’s fairground rides there is an opportunity to see the RCMP
horses in their stables. As we were
leaving we met a lovely policeman in uniform who was very pleased to stop and
allow me to take a couple of photos. From here it was onto the exhibition space
where stands were trying to sell you all manner of interesting goods. Beyond
this was a cool, calm art gallery featuring local artists and it made for a
nice breather from the heat and the crowds.
Then we caught a bit of the performance on the
Cola stage by the band Marianas Trench. It was actually great to know these
bands were performing for no extra cost to your entrance ticket and they put on
quite a long show. We ended our day by taking the sky ride above the grounds
and taking in the lights as the sun begun to set. It was certainly an
experience and a great way to round off an action packed day taking in the
Western culture of Calgary.
