Calgary Stampede

[bzess]

I will be in town this year for the Calgary Stampede and wanted to know what peoples experiences were like at the show from years past. I will be taking the grey hound from Red Deer, and then taking the C train the rest of the way.

[Taco]

Quit goin' yrs ago... got tired of losin' 15-20 workdays at hayin' time.

[spoiledsaskhunter]

if u haven't been there before, u shud try it.........we don't go every year anymore, but everyone shud do it at least once. if for no other reason than to say 'been there, done that'

[roper1]

The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth tries really hard to live up to it's nickname. A 1.25 million city partying & celebrating all out for 10 days. Gotta see it to believe it. Have fun

[chadyaz]

Hit up some beer gardens around the city. Find a couple of stampede breakfast (get there early or be prepared to wait a while in line). Go down to the grounds, go to Nashville North if you like to drink/party. Watch some rodeo events, fireworks every night. It's a good time if you've never been

[Scott N]

Stampede.... 10 days where a lot of Calgary businesses basically close down for 10 days. A lot of people's livers also close down for those 10 days.

[wasteland.soldier]

A good party for sure. Lots of drunk idiots, but that's what you sign up for I suppose. After living in Calgary for 9 years or so, that aspect has started to wear on me, but as they say, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Or just go camping for a week and a half...

[The Fisherman Guy]

Definitely check out the Chuckwagons and Rodeo, it is in fact, what the Stampede is all about.

[spinerfisher]

Originally Posted by bzess

I will be in town this year for the Calgary Stampede and wanted to know what peoples experiences were like at the show from years past. I will be taking the grey hound from Red Deer, and then taking the C train the rest of the way.

Bring lots of money!!!!!!

[Roughneck71]

lots and lots of money...brutal

[FishingMOM]

9 months later the maternity ward gets real busy

They have some funky fair foods to try out
Bring a bottle of pepto
Lots of sunscreen
Plenty of patience for the crowds
But over all you will have fun


We love getting the stampede backpack, its a great deal and a great way to carry stuff around. Plus they seem to last forever.

[Grizzly Adams]

Better yet, stay home and go to the Westerner.

Grizz

[From The Hip]

Personally I live here and I never go.I have been given complimentary gate passes and chuckwagon tickets and I have given them away.I dont like large crowds and I dont like mindless idiots that walk around completely oblivious of their surroundings.....if you decide to come to an abrupt halt you should be aware and in the know if somebody else is directly behind you.Tack on a very hot day down at the CES grounds and that vast expanse of black top with all of the machinery and the people jumps a 30 Celcius day into the 40+ Celcius range.

I went every year when I was a kid and I had fun but I am not interested now as an adult who in the grand scheme of things would fork out about $300 as a minimum on a "stampede date" with no guarantee the gal would put out.

On a side note I would happily ditch drag the genius that came up with the idea of the "mini-parades" each day.Downtown Calgary is bad enough but the "mini parades" during stampede make it far far worse.

FTH

[Taco]

9 months later the maternity ward gets real busy

Ain't the Statute of Limitations on that 18 years???? Then I should be good......


Yeehaw! Ride a cowboy!

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by From The Hip

Personally I live here and I never go.I have been given complimentary gate passes and chuckwagon tickets and I have given them away.I dont like large crowds and I dont like mindless idiots that walk around completely oblivious of their surroundings.....if you decide to come to an abrupt halt you should be aware and in the know if somebody else is directly behind you.Tack on a very hot day down at the CES grounds and that vast expanse of black top with all of the machinery and the people jumps a 30 Celcius day into the 40+ Celcius range.

I went every year when I was a kid and I had fun but I am not interested now as an adult who in the grand scheme of things would fork out about $300 as a minimum on a "stampede date" with no guarantee the gal would put out.

On a side note I would happily ditch drag the genius that came up with the idea of the "mini-parades" each day.Downtown Calgary is bad enough but the "mini parades" during stampede make it far far worse.

FTH

Wow.. The Grinch who stole Stampede.

Come on lighten up, have some fun.

Jamie

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Jamie

Wow.. The Grinch who stole Stampede.

Come on lighten up, have some fun.

Jamie

Guess I've got to agree with him. Used to go every year, as a kid. Pictures of me, my dad, and Walking buffalo, Pancake breakfasts on 8th avenue, the Cisco Kid, Indian Village, the Chuck wagon races, Fireworks on Scotsman's Hill. You could count on meeting people you knew, about anywhere. In growing to what it is, there ain't no Fun left in the old girl. 15 bucks to park, scared to ask what it costs to go through the gate, overpriced everything. Can't lift your arm without punching somebody in the nose. There's way better value to be had for the money at one of the smaller rodeos and exhibitions and you still meet people you know and have Fun.

Just got back from the grounds and the Gun show couple of days ago. the "Grounds" are rapidly disappearing as the Stampede board continues to throw up ever more buildings, site of the lottery home and the Country music Hall are built over, they're busy taking down the tent by the BMO centre. Not sure what's going there. Had to ask where they planned on putting the Midway this year? The Stampede has come to be all about raising money to finance growth, which includes buying up all the expensive real estate in Victoria Park, so they have "enough" space.

Grizz

[wasteland.soldier]

I used to live just off of 17th Ave, and dreaded Stampede each year. Walking home from work at the bar each night I'd have somebody try to fight me. Every night. Guaranteed. That's one thing I really hate about Stampede.

One year a friend was walking with some girls on the Stampede grounds when a group of three Hungarian guys walked by. As they passed, one of the guys threw a haymaker at one of the girls, bloodying her nose badly. Multiple independent witnesses saw it and confirm it was an unprovoked attack. My friend knocked the guy's front teeth out, and all three went for him. He managed to get away, but the girls didn't scatter fast enough and were caught and beaten up before security came and all three were detained. Ambulance crew made sure to take extra long bandaging up the girl, and my friend's hand, while the &^*&head cried about his bleeding mouth. Other than that they were let loose with a trial date they never showed up for.

It definitely brings out the worst in a lot of people.

I do like the rides. Although my machine shop instructor has partially succeeded in convincing me not to go on them after telling me some of the wide tolerances and cheap material requests the carnies give him for replacing broken parts.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by From The Hip

I am not interested now as an adult who in the grand scheme of things would fork out about $300 as a minimum on a "stampede date" with no guarantee the gal would put out.

A man doesn't need a fist full of dollars to find ladies to knock boots with, that said; there are a lot of smart gals out there that party hard all 10 days long without spending a dime. Respect for the men who accomish both!

[From The Hip]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Guess I've got to agree with him. Used to go every year, as a kid. Pictures of me, my dad, and Walking buffalo, Pancake breakfasts on 8th avenue, the Cisco Kid, Indian Village, the Chuck wagon races, Fireworks on Scotsman's Hill. You could count on meeting people you knew, about anywhere. In growing to what it is, there ain't no Fun left in the old girl. 15 bucks to park, scared to ask what it costs to go through the gate, overpriced everything. Can't lift your arm without punching somebody in the nose. There's way better value to be had for the money at one of the smaller rodeos and exhibitions and you still meet people you know and have Fun.

Just got back from the grounds and the Gun show couple of days ago. the "Grounds" are rapidly disappearing as the Stampede board continues to throw up ever more buildings, site of the lottery home and the Country music Hall are built over, they're busy taking down the tent by the BMO centre. Not sure what's going there. Had to ask where they planned on putting the Midway this year? The Stampede has come to be all about raising money to finance growth, which includes buying up all the expensive real estate in Victoria Park, so they have "enough" space.

Grizz

What do you mean "expensive real estate"? The Stampede bought up everything in Victoria park uber cheap and anyone who opposed them was forced out.They had to deal with 1 guy who was holding out in his 1 bedroom condo.The Stampede owned the rest of the building.He wanted 1 million and got hit with disgustingly expensive forced renovations by the condo board(the Stampede) and he ended up selling and for a lot less that 1 million.

The other thing you missed was the "Cowboys Stampede Tent" which got re-located to the Stampede grounds after Cowboys shut down and Penny Lane got demolished for the 2 new skyscrapers.Yup what a bargain the cowboys party tent is...$40 to get inside for the luxury of paying $8 for a beer + the mandatory $2 tip to the waitress with the fake boobs and far too much make up as well as her my sh!t dont stink attitude with any excuse looming to toss you out once you are half cut and let another sucker in.

All I cay is it is no fun for me anymore and far too expensive for what it is.I will do my best to stop by the poker room at the casino to sheer some sheep this year though LOL.

FTH

[wasteland.soldier]

Originally Posted by From The Hip

The other thing you missed was the "Cowboys Stampede Tent" which got re-located to the Stampede grounds after Cowboys shut down and Penny Lane got demolished for the 2 new skyscrapers.Yup what a bargain the cowboys party tent is...$40 to get inside for the luxury of paying $8 for a beer + the mandatory $2 tip to the waitress with the fake boobs and far too much make up as well as her my sh!t dont stink attitude with any excuse looming to toss you out once you are half cut and let another sucker in.

After having worked for them, you'd have to pay me to step foot in a Penny Lane Entertainment owned venue.

Only time management's ever told me to short pour, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[Matt L.]

I plan I going one of these years. But then I'm more interested in the rodeo and chucks rather than the afore-mentioned stuff.

[From The Hip]

Originally Posted by wasteland.soldier

After having worked for them, you'd have to pay me to step foot in a Penny Lane Entertainment owned venue.

Only time management's ever told me to short pour, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

You have that right....Paul Vickers is a scumbag extrordinaire.....I would happily give him a glass of water free of charge if I saw him drowning.I would rather slice off my wedding tackle than spend a thin dime in any establishment owned by that D-bag.


The biggest laugh I got was when he wanted to convert the old Staples store at 4th ave & 5th st into a "gay bar".....it would have been a "gay bar" for all of 2 weeks and then it would have been the new "Cowboys" and all of the residents of Eau Claire would have had to deal with drunken idiots running rough shod through their community whilst smashing beer bottles and picking fights etc.

FTH

[FishingMOM]

Originally Posted by bzess

I will be in town this year for the Calgary Stampede and wanted to know what peoples experiences were like at the show from years past. I will be taking the grey hound from Red Deer, and then taking the C train the rest of the way.

One of the things on this years menu
Along with
Crocodile sliders
Deep Fried Donut Bacon Cheeseburgers

Polish Poutine

Just think crispy fries and rich brown gravy all topped with pan fried potato and cheddar cheese perogies with loads of fresh sour cream, crispy bacon and caramelized onion. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper, take a bite and you’re hooked.

Poutine Burger

Why order a side dish when you can have it all in one? It’s a juicy burger stacked with fries, drenched in gravy and cheese curds, and topped with a Kaiser bun.

Tequila Fries

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, FRIES! These fresh cut fries have a hint of zesty lime and a zap of tequila. This is one tequila decision you won’t regret.

Turkey Dinner Poutine

The full turkey dinner- thick slices of turkey meat, mashed potatoes, cranberries, peas and delicious gravy all on a bed of poutine.