| Well, last week it arrived. Tucked between a brown envelope from the Government of Canada and my recent Internet purchases, was my Calgary Stampede Daily Events Planner (July 9-18). I shuddered, yet like a bad traffic accident, I could not turn away. Who would perform on the Coca-Cola stage? Would the Superdogs be back? Would the Rotary Dream Home be big enough? All the information seemed so overwhelming, so I decided to streamline my approach.
The answers to all my questions, and so much more, were at calgarystampede.com. In addition to purchasing all the rodeo tickets my little heart could desire, I found the Superdogs ready to impress with a ’70s disco-ball theme show, and specs on the almost-big-enough dream home, 2,422 square feet to be exact. However, the best reason to visit the site for locals and visitors is the "My Day" option which lets you customize your day by interests or specific events with a printable schedule to keep you out of the Caesar bar or from wandering around looking for those little doughnuts.
If you’re already a Stampede pro and looking to branch out, you could always take on Edmonton’s summer gala (July 22 to 31) at klondikedays.com. The site isn’t as well put together as the Calgary one with a big Flash intro slowing everything down, but you can still plan your day by interests and print out the result.
If you’re looking for something a little less midway-oriented, try Penticton’s legendary Peach Festival (August 4 to 8) at peachfest.com. The Square Dance Festival is the highlight here – since the riots of the ’90s, things have mellowed out a little, but you can still get crazy with the "Awesome Laser Light display" and Penticton Cloggers. |
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