It’s time for the Calgary Stampede!

Billing itself as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” this year’s Stampede is tak­ing over Calgary until July 12th.

If you’re a new­comer set­tling into Calgary, don’t plan on get­ting much done over the next 10 days. Nearly all of Calgary will be out at the city’s biggest party!

So what’s the Stampede all about?

Even as Calgary has become increas­ingly urban, the biggest event of the year still has its roots in cow­boy cul­ture. The Stampede is a rodeo, county fair, and crazy party rolled into one.

What few peo­ple know, how­ever, is that the Stampede has a U.S. con­nec­tion. Here’s an excerpt from my book, Living Abroad in Canada, that explains:

The Stampede, which began in 1912, was the vision of an American expat. Born in Rochester, New York, Guy Weadick became a vaude­ville and rodeo per­former who appeared across North America.

In Calgary, he met H. C. McMullen, a live­stock agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and they hatched a plan for a “wild west” show. They secured fund­ing from sev­eral local busi­ness­men, and the Stampede was launched.

The Stampede opens with a huge parade through down­town. Other attrac­tions include chuck wagon races, calf rop­ing, bull rid­ing, horse shows, a car­ni­val mid­way, and con­certs by big-​​name enter­tain­ers. This year’s head­lin­ers include Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, and George Strait.

The Stampede typ­i­cally draws more than 100,000 peo­ple per day, so pull on your boots and come on down!

Photo by sun­deepg (flickr)