STAMPEDE SPIRIT ENDURES
Events to offer familiar fair foods
COVID-19 isn’t stomping on the spirit of the Calgary Stampede entirely.
At least, not when it comes to Stampede Spirit, that annual celebration of tasty treats during The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Although social distancing due to the pandemic is keeping Calgarians from the traditional ways of enjoying Stampede 2020, Stampede Spirit will forge ahead with ways to deliver delicious fair food, such as pancakes and mini-doughnuts.
“Stampede mini-doughnuts?! This is happening!?” Calgary’s Mya Bradshaw exclaimed upon hearing the news. “OMG ... this made my day.
“I’m in!”
Indeed, many Calgarians are thinking the same after Wednesday’s announcement that’s bringing a little taste of the world-renowned festival to the city despite the Stampede’s heartbreaking cancellation amid the worldwide health crisis.
Feed your sweet tooth at the mini-doughnut drive-thru.
Have some fun and enjoy the tradition from the comfort of your car at the BMO Kids’ Day Drive-thru Pancake Breakfast.
And for serious Stampede foodies, the Stampede Food Truck Rally, presented by Sentinel Storage, will offer up a wide variety of sweet and savoury treats.
“We hope this is the start of bringing some Stampede spirit alive again,” said Dana Peers, president and chair of the Calgary Stampede Board. “The cancellation of Stampede was, of course, very unfortunate, but we’re certainly hoping to still celebrate with our community.
“It’s hard to imagine a July in Calgary without a Stampede pancake breakfast, mini-doughnuts and other midway treats,” Peers said. “I’m extremely excited to share that enjoying all three of those Stampede staples will be possible this July, and we also have a few more surprises in store.”
The Stampede is encouraging Calgarians to put on their duds and celebrate safely from their homes and yards while supporting local businesses by partaking in the 10 days of grab-and-go food events.
“Right from the time we had to announce the cancellation — at that time I had said to Calgarians, ‘Keep your hat on’ — we were still hoping to work within the guidelines and make sure that we could have some Stampede spirit,” Peers said. “Calgarians have always celebrated Stampede in their own way. Many have had parties at their homes or breakfasts, so we certainly encourage them to celebrate from their yards and homes.”
But there is relief for those craving the usual midway snacks.
“I was worried I wasn’t going to get a corndog this year, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to get one now,” Peers said with a chuckle. “By bringing the YYC food trucks together, that’s been an opportunity for us to get that wider range of what would be the typical fare at the Calgary Stampede.”
Stay tuned for more details next week, including the need to purchase advance tickets for the grub runs.
“Based on today’s response, there’s a lot of people excited about this — and that excites me,” Peers said. “I’ve been hoping to get approval to do some of these things. This has been a difficult situation for everyone these past few months, so we were looking for some good news for a bit of a celebration.
“Without the support of our Stampede partners, this wouldn’t be possible,” Peers added. “We’d like to thank them and our community for keeping the Stampede Spirit shining in 2020. We hope there’s a little taste of Stampede for everyone this year until we can gather together again in 2021.
“We’re going to ride again.”