When was the first Calgary Rodeo?
Calgary Stampede
The event's roots are traced to 1886 when the Calgary and District Agricultural Society held its first fair. In 1912, American promoter Guy Weadick organized his first rodeo and festival, known as the Stampede. He returned to Calgary in 1919 to organize the Victory Stampede in honour of soldiers returning from World War I. Weadick's festival became an annual event in 1923 when it merged with the Calgary Industrial Exhibition to create the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.
Calgary Stampede
The discovery of the Leduc No. 1 oil well in 1946 and major reserves in the Turner Valley area southwest of the city ushered in a period of growth and prosperity. Calgary was transformed from an agricultural community into the oil and gas capital of Canada. The city's population nearly doubled between 1949 and 1956, and Calgary's immigrant population not only embraced the Stampede, but encouraged friends and family in their home towns to do the same. The 1950s represented the golden age of the Calgary Stampede.
Calgary Cup
The Calgary Cup was a four-team ice hockey tournament held from December 26, 1986, to January 3, 1987, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was a preview event for the 1988 Winter Olympics, and featured the national hockey teams of Canada, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and the United States. All games were held at the Olympic Saddledome.
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede midway has been operated by North American Midway Entertainment, and its predecessor Conklin Shows, since 1976. The midway is the only part of the event operated on a for-profit basis. It is considered an essential component of the Stampede, but is separate from the predominantly western theme. The midway opens on the Thursday night before other events begin, known as "sneak-a-peek" night. In addition to the traditional rides and carnival games, the midway features two concert areas. Nashville North, a large party tent, made its debut in 1993 as a country music venue. It was followed one-year later by what is now known as the Coca-Cola Stage that offers family entertainment during the day and rock and pop acts during the evenings. The Saddledome hosts headlining acts, including Garth Brooks and The Beach Boys, who were booked for the Stampede's 100th anniversary in 2012.
E. L. Richardson
E. L. Richardson, late of Calgary, Alberta, was a Canadian businessman. He was the general manager of the Calgary Industrial Exhibition and the president of the Western Canada Hockey League, which was founded in 1921. In 1923, Richardson co-founded (with Guy Weadick) the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede as an annual event.
Raymond Stampede
Famous for being Alberta's oldest rodeo, the Raymond Stampede is also known for being Canada's oldest professional rodeo, having started a full decade before the Calgary Stampede.
Calgary Stampede
Maintaining the traditional focus on agriculture and western heritage remained a priority for the Calgary Stampede as the city grew into a major financial and oil hub in Western Canada. "Aggie Days", a program designed to introduce urban schoolchildren to agriculture was introduced in 1989 and proved immediately popular. A ten-year expansion plan called Horizon 2000 was released in 1990 detailing plans to grow Stampede Park into a year-round destination for Calgarians; an updated plan was released in 2004. The organization dropped the word "exhibition" from its title in 2007, and has since been known simply as the Calgary Stampede. Attendance has plateaued around 1.2 million since 2000, however the Stampede set an attendance record of 1,409,371 while celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2012.
California Rodeo Salinas
The first horse parade down Main Street was held in 1911. It was led by James R. Hebbron, who led every parade after that until 1926—the year he turned 97. The parade consisted of a 16-part band and about 100 horses ridden by nearby ranchers. There was another parade that was held on the evening of the closing night. It was less formal and consisted of the few cars that could be decorated, rather than horses.
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary and District Agricultural Society was formed in 1884 to promote the town and encourage farmers and ranchers from eastern Canada to move west. The society held its first fair two years later, attracting a quarter of the town's 2,000 residents. By 1889, it had acquired land on the banks of the Elbow River to host the exhibitions, but crop failures, poor weather, and a declining economy resulted in the society ceasing operations in 1895. The land passed briefly to future Prime Minister R. B. Bennett who sold it to the city. The area was called Victoria Park, after Queen Victoria, and the newly formed Western Pacific Exhibition Company hosted its first agricultural and industrial fair in 1899.
Calgary Stampede
The rodeo is the heart of the Calgary Stampede. It is one of the largest, and the most famous event of its kind in the world. With a prize of $100,000 to the winner of each major discipline and $1,000,000 total on championship day alone, it also offers the richest payout. Cowboys consider performing in front of over 20,000 fans daily to be the highlight of the rodeo season.
Stampede Grandstand
The Stampede Grandstand is a 17,000-seat, plus 8,000 more with standing room, stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It annually hosts the rodeo, the chuckwagon races and the evening Grandstand Show portions of the Calgary Stampede.
Stock contractor
In 1902, Raymond Knight started the Raymond Stampede and became known as "the father of Canadian rodeo." In 1903 he built the first rodeo arena and grandstand in Canada, and in the process became both the first rodeo producer and the first rodeo stock contractor. Knight was originally from Utah and ranched in the Milk River Ridge area of southern Alberta. He ran over 18,000 head of cattle and several hundred horses on almost a million acres, and the town of Raymond, Alberta was named after him. For the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, Knight teamed up with Addison Day, a Texan who ranched in Alberta and Saskatchewan. They became partners in a rodeo stock contracting company called the Knight and Day Stampede Company. They produced a rodeo in Saskatoon for the future King of England in 1919, and produced a rodeo in Shelby, Montana during the Dempsey-Gibbons fight in 1923 where Knight financed the building of what was then the world's largest rodeo arena with wooden seating for 20,000 people. After that single rodeo the arena was disassembled. Addison Day went on to produce the first rodeo in the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1927.
Guy Weadick
Weadick arranged for 200 head of Mexican steers, 200 bucking steers, and wild horses to be brought in from the ranches around Calgary. In order to entice top quality competitors, $20,000 in championship money and world championship titles were offered. The prize money was about four times the closest competition, causing riders from across North America to arrive in the 1912 Stampede. In 1919, Weadick and Calgary Industrial Exhibition manager, E. L. Richardson, agreed to combine the rodeo events with the Calgary Industrial Exhibition and, in 1923, Weadick and Richardson co-founded the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede as an annual event.
Whoop-Up Days
In 1904, eight years before the Calgary Stampede, the first large-scale rodeo was staged as part of Whoop-Up Days.
Canadian Finals Rodeo
The Canadian Finals Rodeo is the national championship professional rodeo in Canada, held since 2018 in Red Deer, Alberta, and previously in Edmonton. The CFR takes place in early-November and is the final event of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association season. It offers one of the richest purses in Canadian rodeo, usually worth over C$1,000,000.
Calgary Roughnecks
The National Lacrosse League announced on March 28, 2001, that it had awarded an expansion franchise to a group of four owners led by Brad Banister. The idea for the team was formed a year earlier during Calgary's famous Canada Day lacrosse tournament where it was suggested that professional lacrosse could work in Calgary. Within eight weeks of Banister contacting the league, Calgary was announced as the tenth franchise in the NLL at a cost of $500,000. The new team did not immediately announce its nickname, though Banister stated it would relate to the oilpatch. The name was later announced as the "Roughnecks", named after workers on an oil rig.
Calgary Stampede
Organized by thousands of volunteers and supported by civic leaders, the Calgary Stampede has grown into one of the world's richest rodeos, one of Canada's largest festivals, and a significant tourist attraction for the city. Rodeo and chuckwagon racing events are televised across Canada. However, both have been the target of increasing international criticism by animal welfare groups and politicians concerned about particular events as well as animal rights organizations seeking to ban rodeo in general.
Guy Weadick
In 1912, Weadick travelled to Calgary, where he met with H.C. McMullen, a livestock agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The two of them put together a program for a frontier show. They envisioned a cowboy championship along with a tribute to the Old West. Weadick gained financing from the Big Four: George Lane, owner of the Bar U Ranch; two other wealthy ranchers, Patrick Burns and A. E. Cross; and A. J. McLean, provincial secretary. He staged the first Calgary Stampede September 2–7, 1912, when ranchers and farmers had finished the harvesting and would be free to attend.
Canadian women's ice hockey history
Calgary's roots in women's hockey date back to 1908. A Swastika skating club was formed in 1909 (at the time, the swastika was considered a sign of good fortune), and formations of teams in the Calgary Collegiate Institute and Mount Royal College provided women with many opportunities to participate. Calgary's first city team was the Calgary Crescents. The Crescents played teams from Red Deer, Okotoks, Canmore, Banff, and Medicine Hat.
Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
Pro Rodeo Canada is home to the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association and is headquartered in Airdrie, Alberta. Pro Rodeo Canada sanctions professional rodeo in Canada. For example, Pro Rodeo Canada sanctioned 55 rodeos in 2016. The total payout was $5.3 million. The organization's primary concerns are legitimacy of the rodeo competition and welfare of the livestock. Pro Rodeo Canada also works with the American sanctioning organization, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Obviously, rodeo participants are the highest in the forefront of any organization, but Pro Rodeo Canada also consists of all of the other usual rodeo personnel, such as stock contractors, judges, announcers, bull fighters, and others. Last years and all previous years the CFR was held at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. This year the 45th Annual Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) will be held at the ENMAX Centrium, Westerner Park, in Red Deer, Alberta. The ability to secure this arena demonstrates that the rodeo still has a strong fan base and high growth rate. The CFR had to move when it was announced that the city of Edmonton was going to close the Northlands Coliseum down. Previously, the finals were held at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmondton, Alberta, for its entire 44-year history. After announcing a new venue for the year 2018, the Canadian Finals Rodeo takes place in Red Deer, Alberta, on October 30 through November 4.
Calgary
Calgary hosts a number of annual festivals and events. These include the Calgary International Film Festival, the Calgary Folk Music Festival, FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival, Sled Island music festival, Beakerhead arts, science and engineering festival, the Folk Music Festival, the Greek festival, Carifest, Wordfest, the Lilac Festival, GlobalFest, Otafest, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, FallCon, the Calgary Fringe Festival, Summerstock, Expo Latino, Calgary Pride, Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, and many other cultural and ethnic festivals. Calgary's best-known event is the Calgary Stampede, which has occurred each July since 1912. It is one of the largest festivals in Canada, with a 2005 attendance of 1,242,928 at the 10-day rodeo and exhibition.
Calgary Canadian Irish Athletic Club
In 1973 a ladies field hockey section of the club was formed. 
In 1993 the club was the first rugby club in Calgary to open its own clubhouse and playing fields, complete with 2 full size rugby pitches and 2 field hockey pitches.
In 1999 a Women's Rugby team joined the club to form one of the best women's rugby programs in Canada. 
In 2003 the club became the first rugby club in Calgary to open an indoor gym.
In 2011 all three senior men's rugby teams qualified for playoffs. 
In 2011 the 2nd division team won the provincial championship by beating the Norwesters 16-12.
Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
The CFR is the ultimate event of the tour. Throughout Canada, it is considered the top national championship of professional rodeo, and starting in 2018, it will be held annually in Red Deer, Alberta. The CFR's top award amount is one of the largest in Canadian rodeo, totaling $1.65 million. The top 12 competitors from the sanctioned events are selected for the CFR each year. The CFR runs for six days each season. FloRodeo will, beginning in 2018, capture top athletes competing in those six rounds of the 7 events. FloRodeo will also capture the 7 event champions, a high-point, and an all-around cowboy champion. “We’re excited about broadening our reach through our new partnership with FloSports,” said Canadian Professional Rodeo Association General Manager Jeff Robson. “The opportunity to live stream the Finning Canada Pro Tour rodeos and both our finals – the Grass Roots Final and the Canadian Finals Rodeo – will provide welcome exposure for our sport and expand access for our fans." Annually, the rodeo features one of the nation's largest prize purses—$1.65 million—and accepts the top 12 money-earners from the CPRA rodeo season. Over six days, FloRodeo will capture some of rodeo's top athletes competing through six rounds to determine each of the seven event winners, a high-point, and an all-around champion.
Surrey, British Columbia
Since 1888, the town centre of Cloverdale has hosted the annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds every May long weekend. The Fair is Canada's second largest rodeo, and it features of family-oriented entertainment including agricultural/horticultural exhibits, a western tradeshow, parade, community stages, and the Pacific Northwest Firefighter Combat Challenge.
California Rodeo Salinas
On August 1, 1911, the first Rodeo was held at the racetrack grounds. It was advertised as a Wild West Show. Because it ran for a week, Iver "Red" Cornett wanted to call it "Big Week." Frank Griffen wanted to call it "The California Rodeo." Both names are still used today. The founders of the rodeo, in addition to the two mentioned above, were H.E. Abbott, James E. Breen, Sam Matthews, Lawrence "Butch" Beevers, Arthur Hebbron, Julius Trescony, John Bryan, E.J. Redmond, Ed Bordieu, A.J. Zabala, P.E. Zabala and H.W. Lynch.
Calgary-North East
The historic 1959 redistribution of the provincial ridings of Calgary and Edmonton marked the transition back to First Past the Post. From 1921 to 1959 Calgary and Edmonton, along with a few other ridings in the province elected members with Single Transferable Vote. The redistribution created seven ridings in Calgary, two of those still exist today.
Victoria Arena (Calgary)
The Victoria Arena was the main ice hockey arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and one of the first. The Victoria Arena was built before World War I and was the main ice hockey arena in Calgary until the Stampede Corral opened in 1950. It was located in Victoria Park, later renamed Stampede Park, home of the Calgary Stampede.
History of rodeo
The first woman bulldogger appeared in 1913, when the great champion trick and bronc rider and racer Tillie Baldwin exhibited the feat. However, women's bulldogging contests never materialized. But cowboys did take up the sport with enthusiasm but without the lip-biting, and when rodeo rules were codified, steer wrestling was among the standard contests. Two halls of fame recognize Bill Pickett as the sole inventor of bulldogging, the only rodeo event which can be attributed to a single individual.
Calgary Stampede
At least seven movies were filmed at the Stampede by 1950. The most profitable, the 1925 silent film "The Calgary Stampede", used footage from the rodeo and exposed people across North America to the event. Hollywood stars and foreign dignitaries were attracted to the Stampede; Bob Hope and Bing Crosby each served as parade marshals during the 1950s, while Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made their first of two visits to the event as part of their 1959 tour of Canada. The Queen also opened the 1973 Stampede.
Volunteer Calgary
The first Volunteer Centre in Canada was established in 1937 in Montreal to respond to the need for volunteers during the Second World War. The first volunteer centre in Calgary was established in 1955 by the Junior League. During the 1960s and 1970s, Volunteer Centres were established across Canada in many urban areas, with intentions to promote and support effective volunteering.
Calgary Marathon
In late 2013, it was announced that the Calgary Marathon would also host a one-time only 50 kilometer ultramarathon in 2014 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event. All finishers in the 50k event will receive a commemorative beer glass from the title sponsor of the race, Wild Rose Brewery. The Calgary Marathon has announced that it will host a 150K race in 2017 as part of race weekend to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary.
California Rodeo Salinas
The rodeo in 1912 was even more successful than the one the year before. This was the first time that cowgirls were included. This was also the first time that out of town dignitaries and politicians attended. The highlight of that year's show was the performance by the black cowboy Jesse Stahl. He competed in bronc riding twice, once facing forward, the other time facing backwards. Jesse Stahl retired in 1929 and was probably the most well-known black cowboy in history. The total attendance to the 1912 show was 4,000.
CKO
In November 1977, the Calgary station was opened with Bob Quinn as its first news director. He expanded coverage in Alberta and was instrumental in the network's coverage of the Kosmos 954 satellite crash in the Northwest Territories in January 1978 and the crash of Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314 in Cranbrook, BC a few weeks later. Reporter Bill Pringle was the first journalist at the crash scene. Calgary coverage centered on local news and the booming Alberta energy sector. The Calgary and Edmonton reporters joined forces to broadcast the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. The Calgary stationed featured numerous local features reflecting the skills on the staff and balanced network's national approach. Calgary and Edmonton produced a regional afternoon newscast, "Alberta Today". It was often co-anchored by Cliff Oginski in Edmonton and Calgary's Bill Pringle.
Sport in Calgary
The Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, is home to a relatively deep-seated tradition of winter sports. Much of this stems from its location, with proximity to the Alberta Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park. After hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics, the city has also had winter sports and training facilities. Beyond winter sports, Calgary has a number of professional and amateur sports teams and is a major world pro rodeo centre.
Pete Knight (rodeo)
Knight won second in a bucking contest a few months after beginning training in 1918. Calgary Stampede founder Guy Weadick invited him to compete at the Stampede, which he did in 1924, winning second place in the Canadian Bucking Horse Championship event by 1/10 of a point. He toured with the Alberta Stampede Company, riding Midnight for the first time in October 1926 in Montreal. He won the 1927 Canadian and North American Open bucking championships and was awarded the Prince of Wales' Cup.
At the 1930 Calgary Stampede, Knight won the Canadian Championship Bucking event for the second time, and weeks later, won the 1930 bucking event at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. In 1931, Knight won the World Series Rodeo bucking event held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, and was chosen to compete against three other riders (the bucking event winners of the 1931 Rodeos at Calgary, Pendleton, Oregon, and Cheyenne) for the Jack Dempsey Trophy, which Knight won at Reno, Nevada in the Ride of Champions event held in June 1932. He went on to win the bucking event at the 1932 Pendleton Round-Up in Pendleton, Oregon.
Calgary Stampede
Each year, a queen and two princesses are selected as Stampede royalty. They are chosen via a contest open to any woman between the ages of 19 and 24 who resides in Alberta. An emphasis is placed on horsemanship skills and ability to serve as ambassadors for both the Stampede and the city. The first Stampede Queen, Patsy Rodgers, was selected in 1946 while the princesses were first chosen the following year. The royal trio serve one-year terms during which they will make hundreds of appearances throughout southern Alberta and across North America. They then become members of the Calgary Stampede Queens' Alumni Association, founded in 1971. The association organizes fundraisers and events in support of organizations that work with special needs children.
Rodeo
In 1976, the first gay rodeo was held in Reno, Nevada as a charity fundraiser. Several regional gay rodeo organizations were formed in the following years, and, in 1985, the existing organizations formed the International Gay Rodeo Association as a national sanctioning body. The melding of homosexuality and straight cowboy culture in gay rodeo simultaneously embraces archetypal Cowboy Code traits and contemporary gay identity. Openly gay competitors stage their own rodeos because they are not welcomed in the straight circuit. "We can ride with the best of them," one person stated, "But they don't want us around."
Calgary Stampede
The Stampede Showband was created in 1971 to serve as the organization's musical ambassadors. The troupe features over 150 members between the ages of 16 and 21, and has been named the world champion of marching show bands five times, lastly being in August 2014. The group has performed all over the world, in front of royalty and world leaders, and at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Showband performs year round, and make over 100 appearances during the Stampede alone. They performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California for the third time in 2012 as part of the Stampede's 100th anniversary celebrations. The Showband also performed "O Canada" every night during the chuckwagon races with the anthem singer singing a bilingual version. The Stampede Showriders were created in 1985 as a precision equestrian drill team and colour guard that accompanies the Showband.
Blue Line (Calgary)
The concept of a light rail transit system (LRT) was approved in 1976 by the City of Calgary, with the first section running from Anderson Road in the southwest, northbound and into downtown, opening in 1981. Originally planned for 40,000 passengers per day, this initial section quickly achieved its designed ridership, and is now part of the Red Line. Based on the success of the Anderson-downtown section, the city approved a second route which would head northwest towards the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Opposition to the routing through the neighborhood of Sunnyside resulted in a switch of priority to the northeast, in what would become the Blue Line. The median of some main roads had already been allocated to serve as the right of way for what would become the CTrain's Blue Line, and the first section opened in 1985, before the originally proposed northwestern expansion. Both lines share a right-of-way through the downtown core.
Calgary Safety Roundup
In 1961 CFCN applied for a broadcast license to become the 2nd television station serving the Southern Alberta area. As part of their promise of performance they created the Calgary Safety Roundup television show. The format was a weekly ½ hour variety program featuring the 5 young singers on a western themed set with hay bales and wagon wheels. Each week young Michael Walterson would make a radio call on the police Harley Davidson down to police headquarters for a safety tip. The program was produced by Hugh Dunn with program manager Ted Chapman assisted by Grace Depoe. The backup band was Ernie McCullough and the Golden Rockets featuring Slim Johnson and Verge Kennedy with 'Uncle' Andy Anderson on the piano. Over time the program's broadcast to spread from Saskatchewan to Vancouver. The singers also performed live shows regularly at venues all over Southern Alberta.
Calgary Stampede
According to Ralph Klein, former mayor of Calgary and premier of Alberta, the Stampede symbolizes the province's spirit. He cited the friendly and welcoming attitude and festival spirit of the city's populace during the event, which community booster groups export around the world. Among examples cited was the infamous 1948 Grey Cup game in which two trains of Stampeder football fans descended on Toronto and launched an unprecedented series of celebrations before, during and after the game that included riding a horse into the lobby of the Royal York Hotel. The events helped turn the Grey Cup into a national festival and the largest single-day sporting event in the country.
Sunnyside, Calgary
Beginning in 1913, streetcars were the main means of transport within the city. One of the lines traveled east through Sunnyside on 2 Avenue to pick up workers for the CPR. It then went up the hill to the north end of the Centre Street Bridge. There, the workers caught another streetcar to downtown. The area where the streetcar went up the embankment is now part of Calgary's paved pathway system; it begins behind the Calgary Curling Club, passes underneath the McHugh Bluff stairs and onwards to the top of the bluff.
Pima County Sheriff's Department
In 1912, Echols traveled to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the first Frontier Days and Cowboy Championship Contest (later known as the Calgary Stampede). He would compete against the best ropers in the world and garner the title of World's Champion Roper.
Calgary Flames
The team was founded in 1972 in Atlanta as the Atlanta Flames until relocating to Calgary in 1980. The Flames played their first three seasons in Calgary at the Stampede Corral before moving into their current home arena, the Scotiabank Saddledome (originally known as the Olympic Saddledome), in 1983. In 1985–86, the Flames became the first Calgary team since the 1923–24 Tigers to compete for the Stanley Cup. In 1988–89, the Flames won their first and only championship. The Flames' unexpected run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals gave rise to the Red Mile, and in 2011 the team hosted and won the second Heritage Classic outdoor game.
Calgary Chinooks
Founded in 1972 as The Pass Red Devils, the team relocated to Pincher Creek to become the Pincher Creek Panthers for the 1976-77 season. The team lasted only two years in Pincher Creek before relocating again to Calgary to become the Calgary Chinooks. After one season, they were renamed the Calgary Spurs. The franchise was renamed twice more to the Calgary Royals in 1990 and the Calgary Mustangs in 2010.
Silas Alexander Ramsay
A native of Quebec, Ramsay first travelled to the west with the Wolseley Expedition in a suppression effort to the Red River Rebellion in 1870. Before returning home, he visited the Calgary area and hunted buffalo. This was prior to the initial Fort Calgary settlement, which happened in 1875.
Calgary Stampede
First Nations people had been frequent participants in the city's exhibitions since they were first held in 1886, taking part in parades and sporting events and entertaining spectators with traditional dances. By 1912 however, pressure from agents of the Department of Indian Affairs to suppress their historic traditions and to keep them on their farms nearly ended native participation. Weadick hoped to include native people as a feature of his Stampede, but Indian Affairs opposed his efforts and asked the Duke of Connaught, Canada's Governor General, to support their position. The Duke refused, and after Weadick gained the support of political contacts in Ottawa, including future Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, the path was cleared.
Hundreds of Indigenous peoples, representing six tribes, participated at the 1912 Stampede. They camped in tipis and wore their finest traditional regalia, making them among the most popular participants in the parade. Tom Three Persons, of the Blood (Kainai) tribe, emerged as one of the Stampede's first heroes, amazing spectators with a winning performance in the saddle bronc competition. He was the only Canadian champion of the first Stampede and became the first person to successfully ride Cyclone, a notorious horse that had thrown over 100 riders during its career.
Fannie Sperry Steele
The only woman rider of the time to ride her entire career without tying her stirrups under the horse’s belly (a practice rodeo judges allowed for women only), Sperry Steele inherited her love of horses, especially Pintos, from her mother Rachel. She won several awards for her riding in professional rodeos during her lifetime, including Women's Bucking Horse Champion of Montana in 1904 at the age of 17, and Lady Bucking Horse Champion of the World of the first Calgary Stampede rodeo in 1912, where hundreds of cowboys from Western Canada, the United States and Mexico competed for thousands of dollars in prizes. In the Calgary Stampede, Sperry Steele had ridden the horse Red Wing, a wild bronc who had trampled fellow rider Joe LaMar to death only days earlier.
16 Avenue N
Sixteenth Avenue North was part of the village of Crescent Heights until annexed by The City of Calgary in the early 1900s. An electric trolley ran down the artery connecting the area with downtown from 1911 to the mid-1900s. The electric trolley was slowly phased out and replaced with buses. In fact, Calgary's first park and ride was on the Tuxedo bus loop in 1956 and one of three trial express buses started on October 21, 1957—the Yellow Pennant Express from Capitol Hill.
Calgary Stampeders
The WIFU returned to Calgary on September 29, 1945 with the formation of the Calgary Stampeders. In their very first game played on October 20 at Mewata Stadium they beat the Regina Roughriders 12–0 before 4,000 fans in attendance. It was a taste of success to come that decade under the direction of head coach Les Lear and talented stars such as Woody Strode, Paul Rowe, Keith Spaith, Dave Berry, Normie Kwong and Ezzert "Sugarfoot" Anderson.
Timeline of LGBT history in Alberta
Calgary
Bowness, Calgary
Despite an aggressive advertising campaign, and improvements such as the building of a golf course and club house, only a handful of lots were sold. There was a downturn in the economy and then World War I broke out in 1914, and Hextall himself died the same year. After the war, Bowness languished, although Bowness Park was extremely popular with Calgarians, who came in the thousands on the streetcar. Some small farms were established and enough lots sold to justify building a school in 1932, some stores, and in 1934 a post office. Marty Wood, the famous rodeo cowboy, arrived with his family in 1940 or 1941, and attended Bowness School. His parents opened riding stables on Chinook (now 34th.) Avenue. Of note also was the use of a large field near the park, the Bowness Flying Field, as Calgary's first commercial airport. It was managed by Fred McCall, a Canadian wartime flying ace, who flew mostly sightseeing flights to Banff and around the area throughout the twenties.
List of Calgary Stampede Rodeo Champions
There are six major disciplines – bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, tie down roping, saddle bronc and bareback riding – and four novice events – junior steer riding, novice bareback, novice saddle bronc and wild pony racing. Each event is organized as its own tournament, and the cowboys and girls are divided into two pools. The first pool competes each night for the first four nights, and the second each night for four nights following. The top four in each pool advance to the Sunday final, and the remainder compete on Saturday for a wild card spot in the final. The competitor with the best time or score on Sunday wins the $100,000 grand prize.
Venues of the 1988 Winter Olympics
Stampede Corral was constructed in 1950, hosting the Calgary Stampeders ice hockey team from 1950 until they went out of business in 1972, then played again in 1978–79 under five different minor hockey leagues. Following the 1979–80 National Hockey League (NHL) season, the Flames franchise moved from their original founding at Atlanta in the United States to Calgary. The first place the Flames relocated to in Calgary as a venue was Stampede Corral which they used from the 1980–81 to the 1982–83 NHL seasons. After that, the Flames moved to the Olympic Saddledome (Scotiabank Saddledome since October 2010) for the 1983–84 NHL season where they remain as of 2017. The Corral hosted the World Figure Skating Championships in 1972 and continues to be of use for the annual Calgary Stampede rodeo events.
Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant
The Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant was a canoe race started on May 24, 1967 in the Rocky Mountains by ten teams representing eight provinces and the two existing territories. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, the two remaining provinces were not entered. were paddled and portaged in 104 days by 100 men using six man shifts per team. They arrived in Montreal on September 4. Other privately sponsored canoes from across the country made similar trips.
As of March 2012, it still holds the Guinness record for longest canoeing race in history.
History of rodeo
In 1929 the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) was formed bringing promoters and managers together. It compiled scores from rodeo events at the 50 some rodeos across North America including Cheyenne, Wyoming; Pendleton, Oregon; Calgary, Alberta; and Salinas, California. The RAA sanctioned events, selected judges, and established purse awards and point systems. Their judges documented and determined champions in each event. The new organization was far from perfect. Often, prize money was not as advertised and judging was sometimes unfair.
Raymond Stampede
Raymond Knight, who was called the "Buffalo Bill of Canada" by the King of England, introduced the event of calf roping to Canada at the Raymond Stampede. Knight has been called the "Father of Canadian Calf Roping" and won the North American Calf Roping Championship in 1924 and 1926 at the Calgary Stampede.
Canadian Winter Sport Institute
CODA was formed in 1956 with the aim of bringing the Winter Olympic Games to Calgary. It bid for both the 1964 and 1968 games, losing to Innsbruck, Austria and Grenoble, France, respectively. Aided by Peter Lougheed, CODA made a third bid for the 1972 games. The effort appeared to be a sure winner before environmentalists protested Calgary's bid, arguing that the games would cause irreparable damage to Banff National Park. Calgary once again lost, finishing second to Sapporo, Japan. CODA became dormant following the 1966 vote.
The Big Four (Calgary)
In the summer of 1912, the Big Four were approached by cowboy Guy Weadick with the proposal for a wild west show that would ""make Buffalo Bill's Wild West Extravaganza look like a sideshow."" They each put up $25,000 to finance the first Calgary Stampede held in September 1912. The event has grown since to more than $1.8 million in prize money, and attracts more than one million visitors yearly.
List of Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductees
This List of Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees was created by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) for the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame to recognize extraordinary athletes, both human and animal, in the sport of rodeo. It was founded in 1979 to honor and distinguish these individuals as well as the builders in the Canadian rodeo arena. The Canadian Rodeo Historical Association qualifies the inductees. The Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame is located at the Calnash Trucking Ag Event Centre in Ponoka, Alberta. Many artifacts from the varied history of rodeo are on display there.
The Big Four (Calgary)
The Big Four were the wealthy Alberta cattlemen Patrick Burns, George Lane, A. E. Cross and Archibald J. McLean. Together they founded the Calgary Stampede, as well as other cultural and entrepreneurial activities in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the early years of the 20th century.
Wood Mountain Regional Park
In 1890 the Wood Mountain Stampede was established, and it became an annual event held even through the World War years of 1914-1918 and 1939–1945, which has allowed it to attain the title of the longest-running annual rodeo in Canada. It is held each year, the second weekend in July.
Calgary Stampede
Weadick is credited with inventing the sport of chuckwagon racing in 1923, inspired either by seeing a similar event in 1922 at the Gleichen Stampede or watching impromptu races as he grew up. He devised the sport to be a new and exciting event for the newly joined Exhibition and Stampede. Weadick invited ranchers to enter their wagons and crews to compete for a total of $275 in prize money.
History of rodeo
In 1958, the RCA created the National Finals Rodeo Commission to produce a major, end-of-season rodeo event similar in prestige to baseball's World Series and hockey's Stanley Cup. CBS telecast the first such event. Though rodeo had traditionally suspected television to be a liability rather than an asset (keeping people home to watch rodeo rather than attending competitions), the industry heartily approved the telecast. Rodeo schools, which had their tentative beginnings in the 1930s, gained attention and growth through the 1950s, with the first regular school opening in 1962.
Fort Calgary
The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) were created on May 23, 1873 by Prime Minister John A. MacDonald to control the illegal whiskey trade and to create relations with the Indigenous people of the territory. The recruited men left Dufferin, Manitoba in the summer of 1874 to begin their "March West". Commanded by Éphrem A. Brisebois, "F" Troop, a group of 150 men, travelled north from Fort Macleod to find a suitable spot on the Bow to build the fort. On arrival at the location they made a makeshift boat with a wagon box and tarpaulins to cross the Bow. Corporal George Clift King was the first member of the troop to set foot on the location, which is why he is sometimes cited as Calgary's first citizen. Construction began in August or September and the fort was completed in time to host Christmas dinner for the local residents.
Tom Three Persons
Although he remained active in local rodeos such as the Gleichen (Alberta) Stampede in 1914, and the 1918 Lethbridge Stampede, Three Persons never regained his Calgary form. Through the 1920s and 1930s he remained involved in rodeo as an organizer and judge.
Ray Knight (rodeo organizer)
While living in Raymond, Knight managed his father's ranch, which consisted of approximately of land stocked with over 15,000 head of cattle and 40,000 head of sheep. Knight held many honours and trophies for his skill in calf and steer roping. In 1902, Knight organized the first Raymond Stampede, the first organized rodeo to be held in Canada. At the inaugural event, Knight himself took first prize in the steer roping competition.
Calgary Pride
The event has often drawn national news coverage for its ability to attract support from influential political figures. In 2001, Joe Clark was the event's grand marshal, becoming the first former Prime Minister of Canada ever to attend a Pride parade in that capacity. In 2011, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi became the first mayor in the city's history to attend the parade as grand marshal, and in 2012 Alison Redford became the first Premier of Alberta to attend the event. The 2011 event was also noted as the first time that the Calgary Flames, the city's NHL franchise, sponsored a float in the parade.
Canadian Prairies
Some areas also developed cultures around their main economic activity. For example, southern Alberta is renowned for its cowboy culture, which developed when real open range ranching was practised in the 1880s. Canada's first rodeo, the Raymond Stampede, was established in 1902. These influences are also evident in the music of Canada's Prairie Provinces. This can be attributed partially to the massive influx of American settlers who began to migrate to Alberta (and to a lesser extent, Saskatchewan) in the late 1880s because of the lack of available land in the United States.
Mary Walker (rodeo)
On Sunday, July 17, when Walker competed in the Showdown Sunday at Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she finished second place by less than 1 second to first place winner Mary Burger. Her paycheck for $25,000 brought her into the limited company of women who won $1 million in lifetime rodeo earnings. She became the 7th woman to have done so. This record made both her and husband million dollar rodeo winners. Walker gave a lot of the credit to her horse, Latte.
Tom Three Persons
Tom Three Persons (March 19, 1888 – August 13, 1949) was a Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) rodeo athlete and rancher and a member of the Kainai Nation (Blood). Best known for winning the saddle bronc competition at the inaugural Calgary Stampede in 1912. An Indigenous athlete, he was the only Canadian to win a championship at this historic rodeo competition.
Calgary Stampede
Weadick set about planning the 1913 Stampede, promoting the event across North America. However, the Big Four were not interested in hosting another such event. Businessmen in Winnipeg convinced Weadick to host his second Stampede in their city, but the show failed financially. A third attempt held in New York State in 1916 suffered the same fate. Weadick returned to Calgary in 1919 where he gained the support of E. L. Richardson, the general manager of the Calgary Industrial Exhibition. The two convinced numerous Calgarians, including the Big Four, to back the "Great Victory Stampede" in celebration of Canada's soldiers returning from World War I.
Roxboro, Calgary
Rideau Park was established in 1911, and Roxboro in 1923. Buildings from that period still stand today. Both were designated as communities of the city in 1967. It is represented in the Calgary City Council by the Ward 9 councillor.
Venues of the 1988 Winter Olympics
For the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a total of nine sports venues were used. Calgary tried twice to host the Winter Olympics in the 1960s without success before finally winning the 1988 Winter Games in 1981. Stampede Corral was built in 1950 while McMahon Stadium was built in 1960. When the National Hockey League (NHL) Flames franchise was relocated from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States during the summer of 1980, a new arena was needed. The Saddledome construction was underway in late 1981 when Calgary was awarded the 1988 Games. Completed in 1983, the Olympic (Scotiabank since October 2010) Saddledome has played host to the Flames ever since, including three Stanley Cup Finals (championship in 1989) and the NHL All-Star Game in 1985. An innovation for the games was the first indoor long-track speed skating venue which has served as a model for future Olympics. The bobsleigh and luge track was the first combination track in North America and was noted for the Jamaican bobsleigh team crash during the four-man event. Both the Oval and the bobsleigh/luge (now bobsleigh/luge/skeleton) track continue to host the World Championships in their respective sports since the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Organization was founded in 1944. It started when some cowboys joined up to create the Cowboys Insurance Association when each cowboy added $1 to create an insurance fund. Rodeo management matched that amount to increase the insurance fund. A year later, in 1945, they renamed the organization the Cowboys Protective Association (CPA). Under the Societies Act, they completed the necessary actions to become an association. This enabled the organization to serve its members in a more general way. They enlisted their first president, Ken Thomson of Black Diamond. They had 160 members in the beginning. Money for fees was high and returns on wins was not. In 1965 the society incorporated under the name, Canadian Rodeo Cowboys Association, which continued until 1980. At that time, the organization finally became known under today's current name, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA). Now the organization has over 1,000 members.
Ralph Klein
Klein rose to public prominence in Calgary as a radio and television personality. He was the Senior Civic Affairs reporter with CFCN-TV and CFCN radio. Klein gained his first political experience when he was elected 32nd mayor of Calgary, Alberta, on 15 October 1980, one of two mayors born in Calgary. He was re-elected in 1983 and 1986. During his tenure he presided over the 1988 Winter Olympics, the first Canadian city to host the games. The Calgary bid proposed by the Canadian Olympic Association (COA), would spend nearly three times what the rival Vancouver group proposed. Ralph Klein and other civic leaders crisscrossed the world attempting to woo International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates.
History of rodeo
The word rodeo was only occasionally used for American cowboy sports until the 1920s, and professional cowboys themselves did not officially adopt the term until 1945. Similarly, there was no attempt to standardize the events needed to make up such sporting contests until 1929. From the 1880s through the 1920s, frontier days, stampedes, and cowboy contests were the most popular names. Cheyenne Frontier Days, which began in 1897, remains the most significant annual community celebration even today. Until 1922, cowboys and cowgirls who won at Cheyenne were considered the world’s champions. Until 1912, organization of these community celebrations fell to local citizen committees who selected the events, made the rules, chose officials, arranged for the stock, and handled all other aspects of the festival. Many of these early contests bore more resemblance to Buffalo Bill's Wild West than to contemporary rodeo. While today's PRCA-sanctioned rodeos must include five events: calf roping, bareback and saddle bronc riding, bull riding, and steer wrestling, with the option to also hold steer roping and team roping, their Pre-World War I counterparts often offered only two of these contests. The day-long programs included diverse activities including Pony Express races, nightshirt races, and drunken rides. One even featured a football game. Almost all contests were billed as world's championships, causing confusion that endures to this day. Cowboys and cowgirls often did not know the exact events on offer until they arrived on site, and did not learn the rules of competition until they had paid their entry fees.
Bull riding
Although steer riding contests existed into the 1920s, the sport did not gain popularity until bulls were returned to the arena and replaced steers as the mount of choice. The first-known rodeo to use brahma bulls was in Columbia, Mississippi, produced in 1935 by Canadian brothers Earl and Weldon Bascom with Jake Lybbert and Waldo Ross. This rodeo was the first to feature a bull riding event at a night rodeo held outdoors under electric lights. A pivotal moment for modern bull riding, and rodeo in general, came with the founding of the Rodeo Cowboy Association (RCA) in 1936, which later became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Through this organization, many hundreds of rodeos are held each year. Since that time, the popularity of all aspects of the rodeo has risen. In addition to the PRCA, which has PRCA ProRodeo with bull riding and the Xtreme Bulls events for bull riding only, there is the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), which stages a large number of events in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia. For many years the annual PBR World Finals were held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, starting in 2016, the Finals are now held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The PBR's major league tour, currently titled the Unleash the Beast Series, is broadcast on CBS Sports Network, with the primary broadcast network televising selected bonus rounds (known as 15/15 bucking battles). The previous tour name, which ran from 2003 until 2017, was titled the Built Ford Tough Series. From these roots, bull riding as a competitive sport has spread to a number of other nations worldwide.
Red Line (Calgary)
The concept of a light rail transit system (LRT) was approved in 1976 by the City of Calgary, with the first section running from Anderson Road in the southwest, northbound and into downtown, opening in 1981. Originally planned for 40,000 passengers per day, this initial section quickly achieved its designed ridership, and is now part of the Red Line. Based on the success of the Anderson-downtown section, the city approved a second route which would head northwest towards the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Opposition to the routing through the neighborhood of Sunnyside resulted in a switch of priority to the northeast, in what would become the Blue Line. The first section of the Blue Line opened in 1985. Both lines share a right-of-way through the downtown core. The decision to proceed with the original CTrain expansion northwest (in what would be part of the current Red Line) overcame opposition following Calgary being awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics. The city wanted the CTrain to access McMahon Stadium at the University of Calgary, which served as a venue for the games.
Raymond Stampede
The Raymond Stampede of 1903 was the first professional rodeo in Canada with official contest rules, entry fees and prize money.
English Canadians
Rodeo is a popular sport in Canada. One of the great legends of Canadian rodeo is Ray Knight, known as the "Father of Canadian Professional Rodeo" having produced Canada's first professional rodeo in 1903. Another Canadian rodeo legend is Earl Bascom. Bascom, is known as the "Father of Modern Rodeo" for his rodeo equipment inventions and innovations, was the first rodeo champion to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
History of Canadian sports
Lacrosse was invented in the 1850s, when the Anglophone middle class of Montreal adopted the Indian game of "baggataway", which was a violent game played by the First Nation teams numbering hundreds of players. The 1860s saw the first powerhouse team, the Montreal Shamrocks; it was Irish, Catholic, and aggressive. During the 1870s and 1880s the Shamrocks had bloody confrontations with the upscale Protestant Montreal and Toronto Lacrosse Clubs. Field lacrosse spread across the country with the tide of Anglophone settlers from Ontario and Quebec. By the early 1890s it was the most popular summer game in Canada. The golden age came in the 1900s, as two professional leagues operated. Escalating violence led to the collapse of the professional leagues in 1914, and the game's base of support shrank to Montreal, Victoria, Vancouver, New Westminster, and small-towns in Ontario. The organizational infrastructure proved too weak—for example, it was never adopted by schools or churches.
Livermore Rodeo
During World War I, in 1918, the Red Cross was in dire needs of funds, so California cities and towns were assessed $1200 each as a way of generating the needed money. John McGlinchey, who was president of the Livermore Stockman's Protective Association at the time, conceived the idea of holding a fund-raiser in the form of a rodeo to raise the money. A committee was appointed by McGlinchey to organize the rodeo, which was held the first time on a portion of a local ranch near the intersection of what is now Interstate 580 and Portola Avenue. The opening event was filmed by Universal Studios for a newsreel.
Canadian Pacific Railway
On 7 June 2000, the CPR inaugurated the Royal Canadian Pacific, a luxury excursion service that operates between the months of June and September. It operates along a route from Calgary, through the Columbia Valley in British Columbia, and returning to Calgary via Crowsnest Pass. The trip takes six days and five nights. The train consists of up to eight luxury passenger cars built between 1916 and 1931 and is powered by first-generation diesel locomotives.
Lynn Garrison
Garrison became involved in air show promotion with the Calgary International Air Show in 1963, 1964 and 1965. In 1966 the show was moved to Red Deer, Alberta. In 1966 he created the Los Angeles International Air Show which ran until 1969. Garrison was also involved in the Irish International Air Shows of 1970 and 1971 and the 1968 Las Vegas International Exposition with Danny Kaye.
Located in Calgary, Alberta, the Glenbow Museum, Canada's largest, was formed in 1966, when Eric Harvie donated his vast historical collection to the people of Alberta. Eric Harvie served during World War One with Garrison’s father. The museum has included a manikin with Garrison’s flying suit and helmet in its permanent "Warriors: A Global Journey Through Five Centuries" collection which documents the stories of warriors throughout the ages. In 1964 Harvie purchased a surplus RCAF Sikorsky H-5 S-51 helicopter for Garrison's collection. It remains on display in Calgary.
Mary Burger
Burger had 39 rodeos under her belt this year and almost $100,000 in earnings this year prior to attending the Calgary Stampede in March. Burger and Mo got into RodeoHouston and the Calgary Stampede this season and won them both. In fact, she won the maximum amount of money available to any given contestant at Calgary with a clean sweep, $122,000, of which $72,000 counted towards the World Standings.
Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every November. The CPRA also tracks its champions in the List of Canadian Rodeo Champions and its hall of fame inductees in the List of Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees.
Rally of the Rideau Lakes
Rally of the Rideau Lakes was a rally competition held in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada. The rally originated from the Silver Lake Rally, a club rally started in the 1960s. Rally of the Rideau Lakes was first held in 1973, and it became part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule for the 1974 season. The event was considered well-run and it influenced the Canadian Rally Championship, but due to financial problems it was never held again. However, the World Rally Championship returned to Canada in the 1977 season, when the Critérium du Quebec was included in the calendar.
Calgary Stampede
Tie down roping is a particular focus of efforts to eliminate the event. The Stampede altered its policies in 2010 to enforce the rules of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. Additionally, the Stampede was the first rodeo to introduce a no-time penalty for competitors who make a dangerous tackle in the steer wrestling event. Several more changes were made in 2011, the rule changes were announced after six animals died at the 2010 Stampede and were met with mixed reactions from both cowboys and animal welfare groups.
Rodeo
Early rodeo-like affairs of the 1820s and 1830s were informal events in the western United States and northern Mexico with cowboys and "vaqueros" testing their work skills against one another. Following the American Civil War, rodeo competitions emerged, with the first held in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1872. Prescott, Arizona claimed the distinction of holding the first professional rodeo, as it charged admission and awarded trophies in 1888. Between 1890 and 1910, rodeos became public entertainment, sometimes combined Wild West shows featuring individuals such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, and other charismatic stars. By 1910, several major rodeos were established in western North America, including the Calgary Stampede, the Pendleton Round-Up, and the Cheyenne Frontier Days.
History of rodeo
In 1949 the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association was formed and grew extremely quickly. The first College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) was held the same year in San Francisco, California. By 1951, the association had 41 participating colleges.
Downtown West End, Calgary
Downtown Calgary was established as a neighbourhood in 1884, after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883. It is represented in the Calgary City Council by the Ward 8 councillor, on a provincial level by Calgary-Buffalo MLA Kent Hehr, and at federal level by Calgary Centre MP Lee Richardson.
Marty Wood
During the fifties and sixties, Wood was Canadian Champion Saddle Bronc Rider in 1954, 1955 and 1963, World Champion in 1958, 1964 and 1966, and won the Calgary Stampede a total of five times, in 1954, 1957, 1961, 1964 and 1965. He also won at Cheyenne Frontier Days, Madison Square Garden, San Francisco Cow Palace, Fort Worth, Houston, Salinas, Boston Garden, and Oklahoma City rodeos.
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing, and First Nations exhibitions. In 2008, the Calgary Stampede was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
Ice hockey in Calgary
Major professional ice hockey arrived in the prairies in the 1921 with the formation of the Western Canada Hockey League. The Calgary Tigers brought five future Hockey Hall of Fame players to the city in Barney Stanley, Red Dutton, Rusty Crawford, Herb Gardiner and Harry Oliver. During the Tigers' six-year run, they captured three regular season titles and two playoff championships. In 1924, the Tigers challenged the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. The Tigers lost, however, in two straight games with scores of 6-1 and 3-0, Howie Morenz scoring a hat-trick in the first game and another goal in the second for the Canadiens. It was nearly 60 years before Calgary again challenged for ice hockey's holy grail. The Tigers ceased operations in 1927, succumbing to the costs of maintaining an all-star lineup. Following the demise of the Tigers, no major professional club would emerge in Calgary until the 1975 arrival of the World Hockey Association.
Timeline of LGBT history in Alberta
Calgary
Calgary Stampede
The exhibition grew annually, and in 1908 the Government of Canada announced that Calgary would host the federally funded Dominion Exhibition that year. Seeking to take advantage of the opportunity to promote itself, the city spent C$145,000 to build six new pavilions and a racetrack. It held a lavish parade as well as rodeo, horse racing, and trick roping competitions as part of the event. The exhibition was a success, drawing 100,000 people to the fairgrounds over seven days despite an economic recession that afflicted the city of 25,000.
Timeline of LGBT history in Alberta
Calgary
History of rodeo
Rodeo itself evolved after the Texas Revolution and the U.S.-Mexican War when Anglo cowboys learned the skills, attire, vocabulary, and sports of the "vaqueros". Ranch-versus-ranch contests gradually sprang up, as bronc riding, bull riding, and roping contests appeared at race tracks, fairgrounds, and festivals of all kinds. William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) created the first major rodeo and the first Wild West show in North Platte, Nebraska in 1882. Following this successful endeavor, Cody organized his touring Wild West show, leaving other entrepreneurs to create what became professional rodeo. Rodeos and Wild West shows enjoyed a parallel existence, employing many of the same stars, while capitalizing on the continuing allure of the mythic West. Women joined the Wild West and contest rodeo circuits in the 1890s and their participation grew as the activities spread geographically. Animal welfare groups began targeting rodeo from the earliest times, and have continued their efforts with varying degrees of success ever since.
Blue Line (Calgary)
The Blue Line, also known as Route 202 is a light rail transit (LRT) line in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Partnered with the Red Line, and future Green Line it makes up Calgary's CTrain network. Following its initial approval in 1976, the Red Line opened in 1981, with the first trains running on what is now the Blue Line in 1985.
Ice hockey in Calgary
The history of ice hockey in Calgary extends back well over a century to the first recorded ice hockey game in Alberta in 1893. Imported from eastern Canada, the game's popularity rapidly grew in the city, with teams at every level playing for and capturing Canada's national championships. Calgary is known today as one of Canada's best ice hockey cities with the Calgary Flames and Calgary Hitmen receiving immense support from the city. The Calgary Oval X-Treme is one of the most dominant women's ice hockey teams in the country, while Junior A ice hockey is also well supported with two teams in the city. Calgary is home to the Mac's AAA midget hockey tournament, one of the most prestigious midget hockey tournaments in the world which has seen dozens of future National Hockey League players play in this city before their professional careers began.