How the Calgary Stampede has changed in 100 years.
This year there were no purebred cattle shows and the Canadian born Speckle Park breed made up the largest entry at the steer show.
Once Canada’s largest summer livestock show, the Stampede has become an urbanized “western festival” where the Ismaili Moslems stage pancake breakfasts and
promiscuity is openly promoted at one night spot.
The changes to the self proclaimed greatest outdoor show on earth are many, and some are good. The rodeo still offers a rich purse and the overall show is a slick operation run by a group of dedicated volunteers who promote the Stampede year round.
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Yet the decline of agriculture’s presence at an event that promotes western values and heritage shows how the Stampede has become a corporate machine generating millions of dollars in revenue over 10 days of revelry.
There may not be room any more for the old-fashioned stuff where farm folk bring their prize animals to town to show off what they have accomplished and maybe win some cash.
Stampede posters dating back many years advertise the livestock shows as “mammoth” and “outstanding.” Today the beef sector is represented in a trade show area where a few elite breeders can meet potential customers and talk business.
It was odd this year to see families prowling the half empty barns looking for something for the kids to pet. The horses, llamas and sheep were there but during a cowboy festival, city folk expect to see some cows.
On the other hand, the barns didn’t carry the ripe aroma of manure this year and maybe there is something to what one wag said: “City people only want to see cows if they are constipated.”
Maybe. Maybe not.
Country fairs are fast becoming a thing of the past and the Stampede is no country fair. In this fast forward age, entertainment must be instantaneous and always better than the year before.
For my money, local fairs are where you’ll find the true old-fashioned western values. A good example is the Mountainview County Fair at Olds, Alta., an hour north of Calgary. This fair has become one of the largest livestock shows in the West and one of the few where you can still see contests for the best pickles, the fattest carrots and the prettiest quilts. Everybody seems to know everybody else and they’re actually glad to see one another.
That slower pace and friendliness is the western value the big outfits like the Stampede have lost. Too bad.
