Welcome!
• Home • FAQs
• Site Map
Weather
• Contacts
Free Service Appreciation
Choose Pondside Web Productions for your hosting and web design needs!

2006 Calgary Stampede Celebrates Canada

June 20, 2006

Calgary, AB --- The Calgary Stampede today announced a 10-day salute to Canada, featuring a daily celebration of the vitality of our great nation. The richest ride in rodeo, an unprecedented entertainment lineup, and new attractions across Stampede Park will once again welcome the world and solidify the Stampede as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

“This year we are going to celebrate Canada – coast to coast – with a salute to all things Canadian,” said Steve Allan, chairman of the board and president of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede. “The Calgary Stampede is a spectacle that unites our community and attracts visitors from around the world.”

Leading this year’s Stampede Parade as Parade Marshals are two people whose story at the 2006 Turin Olympics captured the hearts of all Canadians: cross country skier Sara Renner and Norwegian national cross-country ski team coach Bjørnar Håkensmoen. At the Turin Games, after Renner broke a ski pole Håkensmoen ran onto the course to give her one of his poles, enabling her to carry on and win a silver medal.

“It was an act of sportsmanship celebrated across Canada and it embodies the kind of community spirit we celebrate in Calgary at the Stampede,” said Allan.

Also leading the parade is an assembly of more than 40 inspiring Canadians who will serve as Honorary Parade Marshals—this group includes world steer wrestling champion Lee Graves and Olympic and Paralympic Turin medallists from across Canada.

“Whether from a small town in Newfoundland or big city like Vancouver, these are the heroes who inspire us and remind us of the unique Canadian spirit,” said Allan. Each day during Stampede, these athletes and many of their Olympic teammates will be honoured on stage during the Grandstand Show and will make other special appearances on Park.

This year, the Calgary Stampede will change rodeo forever. The 2006 Stampede Rodeo is richer, with $1.6 million in prize money, and rougher, with the world’s best cowboys, cowgirls and champion stock competing for the ‘world’s richest ride in rodeo’ – $100,000 on Final Sunday. As Stampede promoter Guy Weadick said in 1912, “The money is here, come and get it.”

The GMC Rangeland Derby has also enhanced its purse to $950,000, an increase of nearly $200,000 over last year. The winning chuckwagon driver in the ‘Dash for Cash’ on the final night will take home the title of Calgary Stampede Champion and $100,000 – double the amount of last year’s payout.

This year’s Grandstand Show commemorates the spirit of Canadian unity, bringing the magic of the Stampede together with the passion of our great nation in ‘Canada, Moments in Time.’ Featuring well-known Canadian recording artists, Cirque du soleil performers, the Young Canadians and a spectacular fireworks presentation, this year’s show will stir a sense of pride in every Canadian who sees it.

Again, the Calgary Stampede has attracted the world’s top entertainers including country music sensations Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney to perform in the Saddledome. The more than 165 appearances on the Stampede’s free entertainment stages are almost exclusively Canadian including Nelly Furtado, Our Lady Peace and Aaron Lines.

Among the other new features at the 2006 Calgary Stampede are 11 new rides on the midway; expanded Nashville North; improved lottery prize package; new entertainment stage in front of the Saddledome; new agricultural programs; new craft outlet and Council tipi at Indian Village; enhanced layout and new features at the Western Showcase; and the top prize has doubled for the Stampede Casino’s 2nd annual Texas Hold ’em Tournament.

_______________________________________________

The Calgary Exhibition & Stampede is a volunteer supported, not-for-profit community organization that preserves and promotes western heritage and values. The Stampede contributes to the quality of life in Calgary and southern Alberta through its world-renowned 10-day Calgary Stampede, year-round facilities, products and services and agricultural programs that foster understanding of the agricultural industry. All revenue generated is reinvested into our various programs and facilities.

To June 2006 News Articles Index | To Canada Equine ...On-Line Home