Stampede Dream Home draw stalled

The Calgary Stampede was saddled with an extraordinary number of cancellations this year that impacted completion of the 2020 Stampede Rotary Dream Home.

The home is historically the top prize in the annual Stampede Lottery, a partnership of the Rotary Club of Calgary at Stampede Park and Kinsmen Club of Calgary, which has contributed more than $21 million to the community in the past 10 years.

In April, the 2,490-square-foot custom home by Calgary builder Homes by Avi was is mid-construction on the Stampede grounds, shooting for a June reveal. It was at the dry wall stage when the pandemic shut everything down, forcing the cancellation of the Stampede for the first time in 100 years.

The two-storey, four-bedroom home is the 25th consecutive dream home for Homes by Avi and will remain shuttered at the park until organizers get the green light for 2021.

“We’ve put some fencing around it and some signage. We’ll develop a workback schedule for when it’s needed and just pick up where we left off,” says Stephen Dawe, marketing manager for Homes by Avi.

He says the dream home is always unique and not part of the builder’s repertoire of floor plans. Homes by Avi’s design team generally pushes the envelope on contemporary design, incorporating cutting-edge interiors and futuristic elements. The 2020 design theme, to be carried into 2021, is called Global Sophistication.

Once the lucky ticket holder is announced in 2021, the home will be moved to a lot in the northwest community of Livingston. The winner also gets the furniture and the artwork displayed in the home, which will be contributed by Alberta artist Katie Leahul.

The value of the complete dream home package will be revealed by Stampede Lotteries in 2021.