Stampede Parade

Ah the Stampede Parade. The kick-​off to Calgary’s largest annual party. This year was even bigger with it being the Stampede’s centennial. As I learned later that day at the Indian Village opening ceremonies, Calgary had a population of about 60,000 at the time of the first parade but about 80,000 people came to watch. They must have had something good going on back then.
This was the first time I’ve actually watched the parade since I was 10 or 11. Through my teens and early 20’s I was in a band and was actually in the parade for almost 10 years in a row. It was nice for once to sit and enjoy the parade and not march along in a black uniform.
As always, the floats were impressive and each one with it’s own take on the Stampede theme. There were some cool cars, the military with their vehicles, interesting wagons, and some beautiful horses. With so much going on it’s amazing that they can pack it all in to one morning.