Calgary Stampede

Old Oct 23rd, 2015, 03:50 PM
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Calgary Stampede

We will be flying to Calgary in July to attend the Stampede. I have been looking at reasonably priced lodging and find several hotels on the MacLeod Trail and in Motel Village that have decent reviews. We would prefer to use public transportation to and from the park.

Any suggestions for which hotels are best? Is the train safe for traveling in the late evening? Any suggestions for must-do events at the stampede? Right now we are planning on attending the rodeo and the evening show.

Thanks for any suggestions.
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Old Nov 12th, 2015, 12:08 PM
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You have picked a great time to book. The area for motels you picked is acceptable. MacLeod Trail is the same road that the Stampede is located on so it is quicker to get around. Both areas are located on the Light Rail Transit LRT line. As a Calgarian the only thing worth seeing is the Rodeo and The Chuckwagons(evening show) Lining up for midway food and seeing all the sales exhibits is not for me. Of course the best shows are the Sunday finals but other shows are good. I would caution you to get some seats under cover as it has been known to rain hard usually 3:30 to 4:30 for a short time. We have had rainy days also during Stampede. The AGRI centre is very new and it has some interesting events. Also pay attention to what is happening on the free stage as they have some good shows for free.

Train travel at night is safe. The LRT is monitored by CCTV but there are always stupid people and drinking and Stampeding brings them out. Please note that the trains do not run all night so don't get caught at a pub and realize you have to find a cab home at the same time as every one else.
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Old Dec 11th, 2015, 05:03 PM
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Thanks so much for your insight Stairgod. We are so excited about attending the Stampede. This is something that has been on DD's bucket list for years. We are arriving on July 8 and spending our first couple of days visiting Banff. We are planning to attend the evening show on Monday, July 11 and the rodeo on Tuesday, July 12. Is there anything else you recommend seeing in the Calgary area? We aren't planning to fly home until July 16. Right now our other option is to drive south to Glacier National Park for a couple of days. We've been there before, but we didn't get to do all we wanted as a late summer snow storm moved in while we were on the east side of Glacier.

Thank again for your reply.
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Old Dec 25th, 2015, 08:35 PM
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I think there's many things worth seeing at the Stampede than just the rodeo and/or the chuckwagon races (although I highly recommend both).

The grounds also have lots of agricultural events like sheep shearing, horse shows, trick riding competitions, black smithing that I find enjoyable and not something city folks get to see very often. You can also take tours of the the barns that have horses, cows, pigs, sheep etc. that are being shown in the various events.

http://ag.calgarystampede.com/events/daily-schedule

You can also visit the Indian Village where members of the different First Nations tribes have displays of their traditional culture (teepees, dances etc.).

http://www.indianvillage.ca/home.aspx

There's also displays of arts (painting, sculptures) and crafts (quilting, painting, needle arts, knitting) in the exhibition halls.

Also, make sure you go to at least a couple of pancake breakfasts. They're hosted by shopping malls (the biggest breakfast is Chinook Centre's), churches, community centres etc.

Here's a link to a site that lists the free/public ones. Check it out closer to Stameped week: http://www.freestampedepancakes.com/
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Old Jan 27th, 2016, 09:11 PM
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Welcome to Calgary!

There are tons to do during the Stampede, inside and outside the Stampede Park! There are tons of free events in downtown during the stampede week, make sure you don't miss them! Eg the old time rigs parade, square dancing, and free chuckwagon pancake breakfast. This article covers it all:

http://fortwoplz.com/2014/07/24/trav...n-attractions/

If you are looking for things to do in Calgary, I would recommend checking out the heritage park. You can easily spend the whole day there!

http://www.heritagepark.ca/

Or, a visit to Banff is always nice - it is only 30 mins drive from Calgary! The cruise on Lake Minnewanka is a delight:
http://fortwoplz.com/2014/09/19/my-a...ke-minnewanka/

You can always check on Brewster and see what deals they have at the moment:

http://www.brewster.ca/

Here is the shuttle from Calgary downtown to Banff:
http://www.brewster.ca/transportation/

Hope this helps!
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Old Jan 29th, 2016, 05:17 PM
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Thank you so much for the information. I have printed the links you have provided for reference as we make plans. We are very excited to visit Calgary and the Stampede. This is one of our bucket list trips. We are staying in the university area at a hotel near the light rail. We plan to take it to and from Stampede park and not have to worry with parking. Perhaps we can take the light rail to some of the free events. I'm sure parking at any of these places can be a headache.

We are starting our trip in Banff, staying in Canmore. We have about 2 1/2 days for that area before returning to Calgary. Thanks for suggesting Lake Minnewanka. We've not got firm plans yet for the Banff area, although I do want to drive part of the Ice Fields Parkway and take the tour of the glacier. We are considering the Banff gondola. Is that something you recommend? Our days in Banff will be Friday afternoon, Saturday, & Sunday. I presume those will likely be very busy days.

We are planning to visit the Stampede for 2 days. We plan to go to the evening show one day and the afternoon rodeo the next day. Thanks for the recommendation of Heritage Park. We will have most of one day to do other sight seeing.

Again, thanks for all of the suggestions. We will check the schedule of events shortly before we leave for the trip to refine our plans.
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