The Calgary Stampede takes place every year in July in Calgary and is a 10 day rodeo, carnival and festival.  Because of the pandemic, the 2020 edition had to be cancelled for the first time ever in over 100 years.  I have gone every year lately and last wrote about my 2018 experience here.

With vaccination rates of eligible residents meeting 70%, on July 1st, our province will lift almost all covid restrictions.  That means The Calgary Stampede could proceed and actually happen for 2021.  The plan was to have pre-purchased entry tickets, reduced capacity and modified events.  The chuckwagon races were cancelled due to late notice of the Stampede even taking place.

They did not have the Stampede super pass this year which is a ticket that gives you access to the grounds all 10 days.  They did however, offer free entry admission on certain days to welcome the city back and I definitely took advantage of that and visited the event 3 days.  Even though it was a bit different this year, I still did have a blast and will document on what’s different.

The Stampede Parade

The Stampede Parade is the official kick off to the Calgary Stampede since 1912 and is an iconic part of the city’s cultural identity.  It is a showcase of colorful floats, marching bands, horses and more.  Normally hundreds of thousands of people line the streets of downtown Calgary to watch this free family friendly 2 hour event.

For this year, the parade will travel through Stampede Park prior to the park opening to the public.  There will be no live audience at the parade and will only be available to watch on TV or online.  They are doing it like this for this year so that everyone can enjoy this tradition safely at home in the comforts of their living room.

Safety Precautions

Although you can still buy admission tickets at the front gates, it is highly recommended to get tickets online.  This way, no interaction is needed with anyone and tickets can just be scanned from your phone or paper print out.  Also new this year is reduced capacity on the grounds, as it allows people to be more spaced out.

All 3 times that I have attended the Stampede this year, I noticed that there seems to be less than half crowded than it usually.  Masks are not mandatory anywhere inside or outside but are optional for those that choose to wear one.  The staff, workers and vendors also have the same choice about masking.

Even with less people attending the stampede, there are still signs and place markers on the ground reminding people to social distance 6 feet apart.  For the most part, I never felt crowded at all as there were less rides, vendors and booths and were spaced out enough to prevent overcrowding.

Meeting Up With Family and Friends

I am double vaccinated and so are my family members and friends that came with me to the Stampede this year.  Even though this was not a requirement to enter the main grounds, the live music Nashville North subjected people to provide proof of vaccinations or take a rapid covid test before entering their venue.

Pancake Breakfast

The usual free Stampede pancake breakfast were back this year for Family Day and Kid’s Day but it was done a bit differently.  This year, only a limited number of tickets were available online at 2 different timed entry slots.  These free pancake breakfast tickets included free admission to the park too.

When my friends and I arrived, we noticed that staff and volunteers were handing out pre made breakfast containers to everyone that had a ticket.  In past years, the pancakes were made fresh as people lined up for them and people could eat their breakfast in a big seating area.  This year we had to take our containers to go and eat elsewhere.

No plastic cutlery was given as our breakfast container included 2 pancakes with a sausage patty, syrup and a juice box.  They were a bit dry and cold but at least they were free.

Carnival Food

Every year the Calgary Stampede has a bunch of new wild food items for everyone to try.  This is a great way to entice people to come and get the buzz out.  Items include: double donut chicken burger, spamalot, rainbow grilled, and many more.  Click here to see the new food list for 2021.

Of the new foods for 2021, I got to try the seafood ramen poutine.  For $16, I thought it was a bit over priced as it was mostly made of fried ramen noodles, gravy with little pieces of seafood on top.  Throughout my 3 visits, I also got to eat the onion blossom, deep fried oreos, slushies and fresh squeezed lemonade.  All delicious but probably very bad for you.

Entertainment

The free motocross and dog shows are back this year but in different locations than previous years.  The motocross is moved to near the midway rides and isn’t enclosed with seating anymore.  That means there is a huge viewing area with lots of space for guests to watch without being crowded.

The dog bowl show now has the option for digital queuing for a safer way to wait for this popular attraction.  All you had to do was scan the QR code outside each venue and get a text message when it’s your turn to enter.  The time we went, it wasn’t busy so we didn’t have to bother with the digital queue.

Of course there are other shows that returned and could be found here.

Free Concerts

Free  daily concerts are back but with one big change.  It is not called the Coca-Cola Stage this year and is now called Stampede Summer Stage.  Because I was attending another music festival in the evenings, I managed only to see one free show this year: Classified.  It was a great show and was definitely more crowded than any other area of the Stampede.

Accessibility

Like previous years, wheelchair accessibility is great at the Stampede.  The whole grounds is pretty much on a paved parking lot.  There are ramps when needed and accessible bathrooms everywhere.  The only thing missing was wheelchair accessible amusement rides.

Despite circumstances, I was glad that the Calgary Stampede 2021 edition could still happen.  Even though it wasn’t as busy and crowded as previous years, it was for the better.