Yeeee Hawww! That's the sound of the Ponoka Stampede, currently in full swing in my town. For those of you uninitiated, a Stampede is a festival of western and cowboy skills, held annually in just about every town in Alberta. Broncho busting, bareback riding, barrel racing, bulldogging steers, and bul riding, not to mention nightly Chuckwagon races - a canopied wagon pulled by six thoroughbred horses! The whole thing is wild and noisy, with a saloon thrown in for entertainment.
Our town of roughly 7000 doubles in size for the week of Stampede. The fifth wheel trailers stretch for hundred of yards in open space around the stampede grounds. This is abig deal for the town. Thne only stampede in Canada bigger than this 7 day stampede is the Calgary Stampede, which runs for ten days.
Spin-off sights produced by stampede week: a cowboy in full regalia - stetson, cowboy boots, jeans, a huge brass belt buckle and a leather vest - no six-gun - chowing down on a plateful of donuts in Tim Hortons. The upside of stampede week is a boost to the local economy. The downside is impossible traffic downtown, and the influence on the town's development by the 15 member Stampede Board. Way too much influence, in my mind.
Tomorrow is parade day - floats, bands, horses, the whole nine yards, plus a street festival to follow. AND, my granddaughter Emma arrived in the AM to work here all summer. A plus for us! alst year we took Emma and her brither Angus to the races one evening. This year, maybe not. Emma starts work on Tuesday morning, so this weekend is the sum total of her "summer vacation." More on this phenomenon in a day or two.
Our town of roughly 7000 doubles in size for the week of Stampede. The fifth wheel trailers stretch for hundred of yards in open space around the stampede grounds. This is abig deal for the town. Thne only stampede in Canada bigger than this 7 day stampede is the Calgary Stampede, which runs for ten days.
Spin-off sights produced by stampede week: a cowboy in full regalia - stetson, cowboy boots, jeans, a huge brass belt buckle and a leather vest - no six-gun - chowing down on a plateful of donuts in Tim Hortons. The upside of stampede week is a boost to the local economy. The downside is impossible traffic downtown, and the influence on the town's development by the 15 member Stampede Board. Way too much influence, in my mind.
Tomorrow is parade day - floats, bands, horses, the whole nine yards, plus a street festival to follow. AND, my granddaughter Emma arrived in the AM to work here all summer. A plus for us! alst year we took Emma and her brither Angus to the races one evening. This year, maybe not. Emma starts work on Tuesday morning, so this weekend is the sum total of her "summer vacation." More on this phenomenon in a day or two.
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