"The greatest outdoor show on earth."

The Calgary Stampede takes place around the second week in July every year in the beautiful city of Calgary. The Stampede has daily rodeo event, a carnival and daily entertainment, ranging from country bands to Canadian classics like 54-50, who return each year to put on the best show of the week. The Stampede grounds also have several beer gardens, and much beer is drank throughout the week. And for those who work in Calgary, Stampede week is a week of not much work and a lots of partying... er... networking. Each day of the Stampede there are free Stampede breakfasts to be found throughout the city, offering pancakes and sausages to all who wish them.

All in all, it is by far the greatest week of the year, easily rivaling Christmas and summer holidays.

Some of the major events include:

Steer Wrestling
Saddle Bronc
Bull Riding
Calf Roping
Chuckwagon Races

Interestingly enough, there is really only one Calgary Stampede event for women, and that is Barrell Racing. I don't think any of the females really mind, because I doubt there are many crazy enough to ride an enraged bull around for 8 seconds. (he-he..) There are numerous rounds in each portion of the rodeo, and they are eventually narrowed down to four competitors who go up for the 50,000 dollar grand prize.

I don't particularly like the fact that they slam the poor animals down, it's really kind of senseless.. whilst still being entertaining, I feel kind of.. dirty.. after watching it. There doesn't seem to be any really great reason to torment poor little calves or sinch the kidney's of animals so that they kick and go nuts. Whatever floats your proverbial boat, I suppose..

Cowboys are so dreamy, sometimes, if not a bit strange. They profiled one on Stampede 2000 who cut his finger nearly off in his workshop and didn't feel like going 2 hours to the hospital, so waited until the next day. (He used duct tape I believe..) They called him "tough".. I just thought that was a bad idea. Infection and the like, you know?

The first day of the Calgary Stampede is marked by a 2 hour parade generally starting at around 9:00AM. The parade route travels from east to west and back across the downtown core. It is pretty much necessity for those who work downtown to work only a half day due to parking and transit considerations. Many employers in or out of downtown will allow workers the morning or day off to see the parade and Stampede, however. The Stampede grounds are officially declared open at around 11:00AM.

Every night of Stampede Week at around 11:00PM, after the Grandstand Show (the reason for the slogan "The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth"), there is a beautiful display of fireworks that are visible from the grounds and surrounding area and audible from everywhere in the city.

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