ALLURE & ROMANCE
The enduring appeal of the Western Showcase at the Calgary Stampede
In the middle of the BMO Centre lies a space with a different vibe, an oasis for those looking to get away from the heat and hustle of the midway.
Since the 1970s, the Western Showcase has displayed fashion, handicrafts and art. It’s since grown to be a place where vendors from far and wide can showcase their wares to hundreds of thousands of people.
“There’s an allure and romanticism to ... being able to see some of our heritage in this fashion. We’ve fallen in love, it doesn’t matter your age, with this idea of western life and cowboys and the sense of nostalgia for simpler times,” said Pam Conlin, marketing co-ordinator for the Western Showcase.
“There’s so much history behind it. We all have in our heads what we think that time was like or what we think a country lifestyle is like and this allows us to play with that fantasy just a little bit.”
For this year’s Stampede, Paul Van Ginkel, a Western Showcase exhibition veteran, is making his return after 13 years away. The first time his art was at the Stampede was in 1986 when it was auctioned off.
“My first exhibition in the Western Showcase was in 1991 and I did it for 15 consecutive years, so it was a long tenure. I know that show was sort of instrumental in shaping my career,” said Van Ginkel.
He stepped aside to try some other things, but every year when the applications come out he always considered reapplying. This year he decided to come back.
“Just being part of (the Stampede) dynamic I missed, but also you know, from a business standpoint, again, it’s an incredible opportunity,” said Van Ginkel.
Van Ginkel’s exhibition will be there for the full 10 days in a booth displaying 16 original oil paintings, mostly of the western variety.
The featured painting in Van Ginkel’s booth this year is called “Cowboy Paradise.” It depicts a scene from the 2005 Calgary Stampede Trail, a six-day, 206-kilometre journey to move 200 horses from the Stampede Ranch in Hanna to the grounds in downtown Calgary.
“I have cowboy imagery, I’ve got First Nations portraits, I’ve got longhorns and cowboys on horseback
and so on,” said Van Ginkel. “I have a couple of other non-western work to show I do other things, but the emphasis is on western.”
On the opposite wall of Van Ginkel’s booth will be three original, commissioned paintings, two of which were done for chuckwagon driver Gary Gorst’s wagon.
Van Ginkel was commissioned by Painted Pony Energy, who along with AltaGas, was a successful bidder
in 2017 and 2018 to sponsor Gorst. Last year was the first time a fine art painting was commissioned to adorn a chuckwagon.
On display will be “Painted Pony Power” which was the original painting reproduced for Gorst’s wagon in 2017, as well as “Reflection of Determination” which is on the wagon this year.