I’m a recovering Stampede cynic

When I first encountered the Calgary Stampede, I was more prone to shout bah humbug than yahoo. Like Ebenezer Scrooge at Christmas, I worked while the Calgary Stampede parade literally went by my office window 14 storeys below.?

Like many of my friends and colleagues, we saw the festival as an excuse to wear costumes, get drunk, and ignore work. At my most charitable, I’d agree that it was a good opportunity for networking and marketing.

Supported by many in my social circle, I happily ignored the Stampede experience.?

This is the context in which I approached my first Stampede in the Mayor’s Office in 2011. Was I about to live a lie and force myself to become a fake cowboy for those 10 days in July? What would my born-and-raised Calgarian bosses say when they found out? It’s not imposter syndrome if you are, indeed, an imposter.

Fortunately, I was not cast out of the office. Instead, I got caught up in the mayor’s genuine love for all things Calgary Stampede. Few things compare to Naheed Nenshi’s thrill about being mayor during the Stampede. Any picture of him riding a horse in the parade shows his joy at its most pure. Over the course of my first proper Calgary Stampede experience, I learned to appreciate it in a way that surprised me.?

It helped that the mayor’s office deliberately focused on the community elements of Stampede. It was a 10-day marathon of official and unofficial events in every corner of Calgary. We eschewed the boozy marketing and networking events that had dominated my perspective of the festival. Over time, my personal view of Calgary Stampede was replaced by something much more optimistic and enduring.?

In the mayor’s stump speeches, we introduced many to the millennia-long history of this place, we honoured the volunteers who wake before the crack of dawn to host free parties for neighbours and strangers, and we encouraged people to embrace the “Stampede” spirit of kindness and inclusion.?

I recall attending a Stampede street party in the city’s far southeast. In a conversation with one of the volunteer organizers, I learned that they host this event because not everyone in their community can go downtown to experience the Stampede grounds; for many families in attendance, this was their Stampede experience, and it was a great one.

My newfound love of the Calgary Stampede was not in learning how to get to better parties or medicate appropriately to manage horse allergies or wear higher quality boots. I found it in neighbourhood BBQs and pancake breakfasts.?

I’m a recovering Stampede cynic who now celebrates that we have a major festival that encourages volunteering, a unique sense of place, and a spirit of kindness.?

Yahoo!?