Braid: Calgary Stampede tops other Canadian summer events by a country mile
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Many veteran Calgarians, I suspect, are so familiar with the annual festival that they don't realize just how big it has become.
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Stampede is the most successful summer bash in Canada by a huge margin.
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For popularity in a relatively small market, there may be nothing anywhere to top the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
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The Stampede attracted 1.48 million from a metro population of 1.6 million, for a shorter 10-day event. Attendance looks to be even higher this year.
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Two more comparisons:
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Edmonton's K-Days, which started oddly as Klondike Days, drew a respectable 742,000 last year. (Edmonton has other excellent summer festivals as well.)
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K-Days easily outpoints Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition, which had a 2024 attendance of 638,000 (from a local population twice the size of either Calgary or Edmonton.)
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Toronto and Vancouver nonetheless call their shows 'national.' Maybe we should rename ours the Calgary National Stampede.
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Even for Calgarians who never go to the midway and the rodeo, Stampede is a larger symbol of the city's identity, style and resilience.
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In June 2013, floodwater swamped the city's downtown.
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The damage was devastating to neighbourhoods and businesses. The Stampede grounds and facilities appeared to be out of commission for many months.
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Water three metres deep covered the rodeo infield. The Saddledome was submerged up to the eighth row of seats. Food facilities were wrecked and power supply to the grounds was threatened.
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