High water mark
Stampede does well by all Calgarians by carrying on
Just two weeks ago today, Calgarians’ anticipation of the 101st edition of the Calgary Stampede was tempered by a bit of trepidation. Sure, officials had pledged on June 24 that the big show would go ahead despite the floods that swept through the Stampede grounds, but was the boast more bravado than believable? Was it possible to wipe away the mud and the debris in time for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth in less than two weeks’ time?
It was evident as soon as the grounds opened that the Stampede and its hardworking crews could be taken at their word, as widely expected. In areas along the Elbow River, near the Indian Village, there was telltale evidence of the destructive flood waters, but elsewhere, at venues like the Grandstand, the midway and in the barns, there was nary a sign of the damage. It was a remarkable recovery; a transformation that won’t soon be forgotten by Calgarians and visitors from around the world.
It is a tribute to the Stampede’s resilience that it was able to dust itself off and get back in the saddle, coaxing more than a million people through the turnstiles over 10 days. There was no hope of besting the 1.4 million visits of 2012, which marked the Stampede’s centennial, but coming within 300,000 of that attendance threshold is quite an accomplishment in a year when officials and ordinary Calgarians were focused on more important things than counting Smithbilts coming through the gates. The fact that 123,000 people entered the grounds Sunday — topping even last year’s figure — must be gratifying for those who serve up the city’s premier event each July.
The Stampede didn’t proceed without some carping. Some folks felt the resources and equipment could be better applied in other flood-stricken areas, but it was essential that the Stampede endured — for the good of the city, and for those who rely upon it for part of their livelihood, including the rodeo and chuckwagon participants and the thousands of young people who work on the grounds.
If there was any further need to persuade the naysayers of the wisdom of carrying on, officials announced Monday that the sale of Hell or High Water T-shirts had raised $2.1 million for the Red Cross’s Alberta flood relief fund. That’s a hefty donation that wouldn’t have been possible had the Stampede not had the moxie to push on. It’s unlikely that a T-shirt that read, “We’ve thrown in the towel,” would have enjoyed the same success as the now ubiquitous black top. The Stampede has sold more than 150,000 of the shirts, and at some points, they were flying off the shelves at about 1,000 per hour. Coincidentally, today is the last day to purchase the shirts online on the Stampede’s website.
“I was definitely shocked at the volume and how rapidly it picked up, and it happened extremely rapidly,” said Stampede president and chairman Bob Thompson, who gave voice to the phrase Hell or High Water, of the shirts. “From our press conference on the top of the hill — literally by the very next morning, the orders began to just escalate beyond anything we’d ever dreamed of.”
In many respects, 2013 was the Stampede’s very own high water mark.