{"id":777481,"date":"2026-07-03T10:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T10:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/777481\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T10:58:08","slug":"calgary-stampede-set-to-kick-off-friday-with-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/777481\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary Stampede set to kick off Friday with parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Young onlookers cheer during the Calgary Stampede parade on Friday, July 4, 2025.Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

A pair of Winter Olympians are set to trade in their skis and skates for hats and boots today as the Calgary Stampede parade kicks off 10 days of western-themed festivities. <\/p>\n

Medallists and parade marshals Mikael Kingsbury and Courtney Sarault are to lead the procession along the city\u2019s downtown streets. <\/p>\n

Many Calgarians get the morning off to attend the show, with diehards arriving hours before the parade begins. They camp out in lawn chairs and with umbrellas to brave the elements to get prime spots along the route.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kingsbury, a Quebec-born moguls skier, said he hasn\u2019t had much experience riding horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a beginner, but I like to try new stuff and learn,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cNervous? Yes and no. I\u2019m excited. If you tell me that the horse is not going to behave and it\u2019s going to run everywhere, maybe, but I think the horse will be well-trained and it isn\u2019t going to be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Sarault, a short-track speedskater from Moncton, N.B., is particularly excited about the wardrobe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited about the hat and the outfit. When they asked me what I wanted, I said make sure it\u2019s western to my core.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s separatism debate jostles summer rodeo scene<\/a><\/p>\n

The Stampede, which runs through July 12, is an economic booster for the city, said Joel Cowley, the Stampede\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is clearly evidenced by the 2025 economic impact study, which showed, because the Calgary Stampede event exists, Alberta benefits in the form of $389-million of economic impact,\u201d Mr. Cowley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, locally, about 90 per cent of that $389-million is experienced right here in Calgary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stampede typically attracts more than one million visitors a year. Last year\u2019s attendance was 1,470,288.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often get asked what\u2019s your attendance goal? I don\u2019t have an attendance goal. Because there are elements, particularly the whether, which are outside of our control. The broader economy is outside of our control,\u201d Mr. Cowley added.<\/p>\n

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said a lot of deals get done during Stampede and, when it comes to politicians, they tend to leave their agendas at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cStampede has always been political in that, yes, it is probably the world\u2019s premi\u00e8re politician petting zoo,\u201d Mr. Farkas said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been political, but it\u2019s never really been about politics. Where else in this country can you see people parking their political allegiances at the door and coming together to party?\u201d<\/p>\n

Last-minute details were being finished up on the Stampede grounds Thursday afternoon. The rides were up. The concessions were fully stocked.<\/p>\n

Scooter (Greg) Korek, vice-president of client services for North American Midway Entertainment, is from Calgary and joined the midway when he was 17.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve missed a day yet. It\u2019s been an incredible roller-coaster ride \u2026 and it\u2019s been an amazing career,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it so much because each day I get to wake up and help entertain 100,000 people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Young onlookers cheer during the Calgary Stampede parade on Friday, July 4, 2025.Jeff…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,2798,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-777481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}