Stampede 2017

[flamesfan1297]

I ended up buying us the tickets online. But I have one more question, will there be parking down at the grounds? Or should I park at a Ctrain station and take that down?

[OMG!WTF!]

There's always parking at Repsol Center...the big tent gym across MacLeod trail. It's $20 bucks but just drive in and park like you're a member of the gym. I am a member and they never ask. They never give tickets or tow. You do have to dash across MacLeod trail though. But that puts you right at the stampede entrance by the ctrain station.

[Drummer]

Has anyone tried the new food this year?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

There's always parking at Repsol Center...the big tent gym across MacLeod trail. It's $20 bucks but just drive in and park like you're a member of the gym. I am a member and they never ask. They never give tickets or tow. You do have to dash across MacLeod trail though. But that puts you right at the stampede entrance by the ctrain station.

No need to run across MacLeod because they have the pathway along the river that goes from the parking lot to the train station unless they closed that. I know it was closed for a while due to construction but I assume it is open again.

[Zarley]

Hopefully this weather eases up before the Roundup tonight. Maybe it's a good thing they moved it to Millennium Park.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Why, is there more rain cover there? It sure looks like a full day of rain.

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Why, is there more rain cover there? It sure looks like a full day of rain.

They said the reason for the move had to do with that site having better drainage, so hopefully it won't be a mud pit.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Why, is there more rain cover there? It sure looks like a full day of rain.

Fort Calgary turns into a giant mud pit when it rains, The rain has caused cancellations of X-Fest and the Oxford stomp (IIRC)

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Zarley

They said the reason for the move had to do with that site having better drainage, so hopefully it won't be a mud pit.

Roundup pulled away from supporting the Rotary and is now a Live Nation concert. It used to be a corporate event where you needed a password to buy tickets but they've been emailing me multiple times per week to buy tickets.

Stomp and the new Stampede Shaker replaces the Roundup are at Fort Calgary. Considering the Stomp was canceled last year because of rain, I find it suspect that Roundup blamed the drainage for the site change.

Roundup had the better artists but Stomp was the better party.

[woob]

Sublime and Offspring were great last night. Only crappy thing was the water puddles when the downpour started.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by IrishSpring2013

another horse dies?? how many have to die.. how many animals have to be needlessly tied up,.. Roped up..for our entertainment before this GARBAGE is banned.. what year are we in..

ive seen videos of the cowboys jamming horses with metal rods to piss them off.. make them really buck.. Sickens me.. Should sicken everyone one..

It's important to note for the chuckwagons that a lot of these horses are Thoroughbreds from the racetrack. By the age of three, if the horse hasn't shown anything on the track, its career on the racetrack is pretty much over. Even if it has, unless you're talking about the best of the best, most of them are done by six or so. The very fortunate few get to go out to stud, but that's not realistic for most of them. Instead, the USA alone has shipped tens of thousands of horses to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered.

The fortunate ones are the ones we're watching at the Chucks. These were the racetrack horses spared from the slaughterhouse. And I mean literally, it's at the same auction that slaughterhouses are bidding against these chuckwagon racers for these horses. So, at least with the chuckwagon races, for the most part, the horses have already been saved. It's just a question of whether you believe they are being treated so cruelly that death would be better. I'm not a horse, but having interacted with chuckwagon horses, I believe that they are generally well cared, enjoy racing and are often treated as family members.

It's not only possible, but likely, that the horse that was put down yesterday would have been slaughtered years ago but instead got to live a happy life for years because of the chuckwagons.

I'm an animal lover as well, and there's a lot of senseless animal cruelty and a ton of animal issues that should find more advocacy behind them, but when it comes to chuckwagon horses, they've got a fair deal in comparison.

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Roundup pulled away from supporting the Rotary and is now a Live Nation concert. It used to be a corporate event where you needed a password to buy tickets but they've been emailing me multiple times per week to buy tickets.

Stomp and the new Stampede Shaker replaces the Roundup are at Fort Calgary. Considering the Stomp was canceled last year because of rain, I find it suspect that Roundup blamed the drainage for the site change.

Roundup had the better artists but Stomp was the better party.

51 North had the rights to the Roundup name while Rotary had the rights to use Fort Calgary. When they split (for reasons that have little to do with drainage) 51 North kept the name but had to move to a new venue.

[FlameCity]

Does anyone know if you can see the grandstand show well from the infield section?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by FlameCity

Does anyone know if you can see the grandstand show well from the infield section?

No. All you would see is the backside of the stage.

[powderjunkie]

Pretty sure security clears the public out of the infield after chucks anyways (fireworks hotzone)

[darockwilder]

Yeah, you wouldn't see the show at all. The people in the infield suites usually stick around and keep drinking though....

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by darockwilder

Yeah, you wouldn't see the show at all. The people in the infield suites usually stick around and keep drinking though....

No they don't. The infield suites are cleared out shortly after the chuckwagons finish up. I think they have about 20 to 30 minutes. The suite guests and workers must head over to the grandstand side before the start of the show.

[Stud_McCool]

Went to the grounds last night and spent most of the night in the old Indian Village (south of the Grandstand) playing hockey and eating free samples of Dr. Oetker Ristorante pizza. I think this is where they have the Canada 150 thing under the giant Canadian flag. There is a hardest shot, shooting accuracy, a pickup ball hockey inflatable arena for big kids and a couple of little inflatables for the little ones. Not a very busy place, so worth checking out if you wanna practice your accuracy and see how hard you can slap it.

[Sr. Mints]

So I went to the Stampede for the first time since 1999ish, and I had a pretty good time.

I don't have anything against the Stampede, I'm just not a big fan of crowds or lines or noises...or people, really, so I typically avoid it. This year I have a VIP pass, so I got to sneak in the back door, so to speak - which is what prompted me to go.

We first arrived in the BMO Centre, in the area where vendors hawk their ####. Wow, has this area ever expanded. It was raining outside yesterday morning, and the building was packed: The BMO centre was hot, humid…ick. As soon as the rain stopped we moved outside.

The midway is one giant cesspool of triumphant capitalism that assaults all of your senses immediately, but we walked around for a few hours. Mini donuts seemed like a good idea, so I had my annual fix - but honestly, trying one of those turkey legs, a dole whip, cherry cola ice cream, poutine burrito, jalapeno corn dog, and crispy chicken feet throughout the day was probably overkill. I feel like a load of garbage today. No regrets.

I brought home some peanut butter fudge, too. I basically have no self-control at all.

Back in the BMO (or maybe Corral?) we went through the arts and historical exhibits (which is probably what I enjoyed the most) and chilled at the wine bar for about an hour. It’s really nice in there. And it was totally dead.

Then we headed over to the grandstand to watch the rodeo stuff. It’s a hell of a lot more exciting than I ever remember it being; certainly more exciting that clips on TV. I’m not comfortable with animals being used for sport (yeah, I’m one of those) but it wasn’t something that I get hung-up over. We didn’t stick around there as long as we could’ve, as it has been a long day.

We missed out on the Agrium building (I don’t even know what’s going on in there), but I might have to go back this week, so I’ll check it out if I do return (if it’s not 35-degrees.)

My pass also included parking in that giant mud pit north of the grounds, but the C-Train would’ve been much easier.

[Swift]

Driving around just now, I saw a guy sitting at this location just before the tracks with a cardboard sign saying "U-TURNS $100" Can't imagine it being much of a money maker, but there's always a sucker somewhere. Good ol' Western Canadian entrepreneurship.

https://goo.gl/maps/MoweFvKzECB2