Parade will give a taste of events, Grandstand talent on offer this year
From a storied couple renewing vows after 50 years of marriage to the debut of the Ladies Sidesaddle Racers — this year’s Calgary Stampede Parade is full of surprises and new twists.
Among its 100-plus entries on the 4.8-kilometre route, Friday’s parade will aim to give audiences an initial taste of Stampede offerings on the grounds, including unique tributes to the nightly Grandstand Show which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
“We wanted to build a stronger connection between the parade and the Stampede,” said Keith Marlowe, media co-ordinator for the Stampede Parade.
Among those connectors will be the eight members of the Winifred Harvey Ladies Sidesaddle Racers, who will race each other at the tail end of the Grandstand Show July 7-8. Experienced horsewomen from across the province, the racers will showcase the historic equestrian art of sidesaddle riding in period skirts and dresses as women would have worn before the First World War, before trousers became acceptable attire.
Other Grandstand Show parade entries will feature 1988 Olympic favourite Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards, Canadian singer songwriter Andy Kim, best known for his 1974 hit Rock Me Gently, as well as American actress Rachel Avery, who appeared in the hit TV series Scrubs and in the film Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller.
Marlowe explained that connecting the parade to the Grandstand Show is also a good way of introducing the Calgary Stampede to the thousands of new Calgarians who arrive in the city every year.
“We know the roots of the Calgary Stampede run deep in this city. But at the same time, there are so many people that are new to our city and we want to be able to welcome them. We want to introduce them to what the Stampede is all about.”
Mike and Loraine Royer, originally from London, England, still remember their days as newcomers to the Calgary Stampede more than 30 years ago.
But this year they will be featured in the parade in a horse-drawn carriage with a “Just Married” sign after winning a Stampede contest to renew their wedding vows. They will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in August.
“Every place we’ve lived, everywhere we’ve moved to, we always do our best to make new friends,” said Loraine, 69.
“But with Stampede, that’s so easy. There’s this great sense of community through Stampede, where everybody comes together and it’s so easy to make new friends.”
Loraine, who will don the same dress and jacket she wore to her daughter’s wedding 20 years ago, will renew vows with her husband Mike, 74, at a unique Fort Calgary ceremony just before the parade starts.
“We exchanged vows 50 years ago, when we were so young, and we thought everything was so rosy. But now, we’ve been through so much, this time it will mean a lot more. It will be more sincere and hold a lot more wisdom.”
Other parade highlights will include parade marshal Mark McMorris, a Canadian professional snowboarder who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics only 11 months after a horrific snowboarding accident left him with serious internal injuries.
Chuckwagon icon Kelly Sutherland, a 12-time world champion of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association and a 12-time winner of the Calgary Stampede GMC Rangeland Derby, will be this year’s celebrity parade judge, selecting a favourite that could be any float, band or unique entry.
He will be selecting one of the entries to win the Celebrities’ Choice Award, and is expected to hand it out at Fort Calgary just before the parade starts. Past celebrity judges have included Jon Cornish, Ralph Klein, Ryan Getzlaf, Beckie Scott, Paul Brandt, and Manjit Minhas.
“Kelly is coming off 50 years in chuckwagon racing — that is such a milestone,” Marlowe said. “So we’re hoping his choice for a favourite entry can give us a different flavour, too.”
Stan Cowley, a longtime rancher with the Rafter Six Ranch Family, will also make his 79th consecutive appearance in the parade.
Among the 106 entries in the parade, including nine bands and 31 floats, are corporate, not-forprofit, municipal, cultural and horse-drawn entries. There will also be seven heavy-horse hitches, 10 mounted colour parties and 49 miscellaneous entries including VIPs, walkers and cyclers.
The parade will also continue with its route reversal which was a huge success last year, helping to set an attendance record on the first Friday of the 2017 Stampede with 115,235 visitors through the gates. That was up by more than 6,500 from the previous record set in 2012. The 2016 numbers for the first Friday were 90,887.