Alive in the City

"Cowtown" that is what they call my city of Calgary. We are referred to as the Texas of Canada. During the winter months, we all go skiing or enjoy the winter sports, and some of us spend the dark days waiting for the sun to come out, to get a little bit tanned for the two months of summer we do have. However, in early July there is a change that occurs in everyone, as the sun get hot, the smell of deep-fried donuts and Oreos waft in the air and there's that need to drink lemonade. My hometown changes there is a sort of excitement that rises in the air, and we are pulling out our cowboy boots for this ten-day week. This is known as Stampede Week it was known as "The Greatest Outdoor show on Earth" and it's been running for 112 years, and it did not even start with a Canadian but a man from Wyoming named Guy Weadick. The c-train stations get packed with people dressed in plaid shirts, jeans and cowboy hats with blingy belts. It is the one time a year I tolerate country music.

You enter the park and you are corralled like cows into the lines for food, music, booze and midway rides. This is the opportunity to eat greasy food that trickles down your fingers; to try something new a different like a deep-fried pickle or a watermelon burger, it is the time to be brave and maybe eat scorpion pizza? these weird foods is what brings excitement to stampede. Not only that but around the city we have free pancake breakfast, you wait in line really long to receive a few free pancakes and a sausage and free food had never tasted so good! We line up at community centers and sometimes in parking lots where we can chat with a friend or a stranger just waiting for free food.

The mid-way rides always terrified not because of the thrill that lets your stomach drop, but the fact that these temporary rides tend to break a lot... they are only there temporarily, you can hear the rickety noise of the rollercoaster climbing its way up and you don't know if it will ever come down. You can hear the piercing screams of people enjoying themselves on the ride, you hear the muffled microphones from the midway games of people just trying to get someone to play a rigged game. Then, there is the sound that we look forward to the most and that is the sound of a large drum playing behind the trombone players, we can hear the band playing cover songs from country to pop to classic marching band songs. The girls with their shiny guns, twirling them and throwing them up in the air without missing.

You can also enjoy the free concerts at stampede bands such as Metric, Benson Boone and Billy Talent as the Grandstand show goes on with country music stars such as The Hunter Brothers, Paul Brandt come and play while the group called the Young Canadians entertain guests and it goes off with a large fireworks show.

This is the only time a year where the city comes alive. I don’t know what happens, but as soon as stampede stops there are not as many people outside. Everything closes after 8 pm and there is not a lot to do here.

This is the reason why I love summer, even if I don’t go down to the stampede grounds and spend my money on great food and listening to good music that is not country. Why does the fun stop at stampede? I have no idea.