HATS OFF TO THE BIG BASH

Pancakes, cowboy duds and parties. Love it or hate it, it’s Calgary Stampede time. It’s our World Cup, Grey Cup, Oktoberfest and Mardi Gras all rolled into one. Sure, it’s mostly the same-old, same-old every year, but so are all the great events in life.

From community pancake breakfasts to the Stampede Grandstand Show, many residents come together every year, no matter their place of origin, to celebrate their city.

Most municipalities would kill for a citywide celebration that reaches all demographics and cultural groups and is at the core of an enviable identity known the world over. And not only residents, thousands of tourists flock to Calgary every summer for a taste of the West, Calgary’s West.

It’s an identity we can be proud of, for the most part. Combine the pioneer spirit of neighbourliness, cowboy heroics and Indigenous heritage and you start to get the idea. Some of it is based on fictional showmanship, courtesy of Stampede founder Guy Weadick, and some of it is based on history and tradition.

At the centre of it all is the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth began in 1912 and it’s still going strong. It continues to thrive despite two world wars, changing tastes, inclement weather, fluctuating economic fortunes, video games and explosive growth of the city itself.

Take a walk down the midway and you’ll see people from all over the world. Chances are most of them live here. But no matter where they come from, they’re very unlikely to win that damned basketball toss. Now that’s inclusion.

The Stampede wisely cultivates its popularity by offering something for everyone and has worked hard at inviting members of Calgary’s newest communities. Anyone can be a cowpoke.

The annual parade, still a huge draw, is mainly composed of local marching bands, horse groups and floats. The same spirit reaches into community centres and office towers. What would be the second week of July without the annual fashion parade of cowboy shirts and Smithbilt hats — and your boss or neighbour serving up pancakes and sausages?

And, of course, our politicians try to lasso the Stampede’s good vibes and ride off into the sunset of electoral success, with annual visits from the premier and, usually, the prime minister.

“Stampede is a celebration of our Alberta heritage and of the pioneer spirit that has brought us to today and will help us build an even more exciting future,” said Premier Rachel Notley on Wednesday.

But above all else, the Stampede is about having fun. Who can argue with that?

Yahoo (not yee-haw)!