This book investigates the meanings and iconography of the Stampede: an invented tradition that takes over the city of Calgary for ten days every July. Since 1912, archetypal "Cowboys and Indians" are seen again at the chuckwagon races, on the midway, and throughout Calgary. Each essay in this collection examines a facet of the experience – from the images on advertising posters to the ritual of the annual parade. This study of the Calgary Stampede as a social phenomenon reveals the history and sociology of the city of Calgary and a component of the social construction of identity for western Canada as a whole.

The Aldens head up north for the Calgary Stampede—a cowboy celebration of Canada's frontier spirit! But when a valuable piece of jewelry from the festival's history vanishes, the children are on the case. Can the Boxcar Children find the thief before the big show?

Alongside images of racing chuckwagons, cowboys on bucking broncos and Aboriginal people in full regalia, one of the most recognizable and enduring symbols of the Calgary Stampede is a trio of pretty cowgirls wearing white-hat crowns. Not surprisingly, modern-day Stampede Queens and Princesses make more than 450 public appearances per year promoting the show and the city of Calgary both at home and abroad. But the fair was nearly six decades old before it appointed a royal representative to promote its interests. In 1946 Patsy Rodgers became the Stampede's first rodeo queen. The following year, a local service club raised funds by sponsoring a contest for "Queen of the Stampede." Although it bore little resemblance to its modern counterpart, this early competition based on ticket sales was widely popular and over the next few decades raised the equivalent of one million dollars for local charities and service projects. From the beginning, the Stampede recognized the promotional potential of the royal figureheads and worked to ensure that winners were credible representatives of what quickly became a year-round public relations job. In 1966 the Stampede officially took over and modernized the contest, but it would take many decades of trial and error evolution to perfect the process of selecting and training its royalty. Against a backdrop of changing times, and drawing on contemporary sources and personal interviews, the author traces the origin and development of the Calgary Stampede Queen contest and profiles its lucky young winners over seven exciting decades. Complete with a large selection of archival photos, Calgary's Stampede Queens tells the story from this fascinating corner of The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

By 1912 the large-scale cowboy ranches of the Old West had been disappearing for years and the Calgary Stampede -- along with other exhibitions, like Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show -- was set-up to commemorate a fading way of life for younger generations and for those who still remembered the mythic era. The Canadian Northwest shared in that grand tradition, and the time was right for a great Canadian cowboy showcase. After a century of international acclaim, the western dream continues and to commemorate the early days of the great Calgary Stampede, a collection of post cards from its enthusiastic youthful years illustrates the look and feel of those exciting times. Taken from the vast post card collection held by the University of Alberta Libraries, these classic views capture all the excitement, from the championship cowboys, cowgirls, and horses, to the tragedies of defeat and injuries. The parades, the aboriginal camps, and all the lively hoopla are recalled in these images, with historical text to add context to those days of dust, sweat and glory.

This book offers the first-ever intersectional feminist analysis of the gendered and racialized dynamics of the contemporary Calgary Stampede. Kimberly A. Williams wants the annual Calgary Stampede to change its ways. An intrepid feminist scholar with a raucous sense of humour, Williams combines memoir, theory, history, pop culture, and current events to challenge readers to make feminist sense of how gender and race matter at Canada's oldest and largest western heritage festival. Stampede! takes readers on an adventure into Alberta's past, looking at how the Calgary Stampede came to be and tracing its evolution to the Centennial event in 2012. Using a variety of cultural materials--photography, print advertisements, news coverage, poetry, and social media--Williams asks who gets to be part of the "we" in the Stampede's 2012 slogan "We're Greatest Together." Who gets left out? And what do you have to do to get in? Williams examines some beloved traditions of the Calgary Stampede through the lens of the feminist killjoy: the parade, the First Nations Princess, the Stampede Queen and her two princesses, First Nations Village, and the chuckwagon races. She uses ads from the Centennial planner to weave a story about the Albertan petro cowboy, his family, and his community. And she asks how the Treaty 7 Nations fit into this narrative about the white settler cowboy. There's no question the Stampede is a widely loved event, but could it do more to ensure that we actually are "greatest together"? Williams thinks so, and she concludes the book with some ideas for a new way forward.

"The true love story of Florence and Guy Weadick and the beginning of the Calgary Stampede"--Cover.

Renowned travel writer and TV host Robin Esrock has explored every inch of Canada’s Prairies to craft the definitive Bucket List. From food and culture to nature and adrenaline rushes, Robin has the inspiration and information you’ll need to follow in his footsteps and discover everything Manitoba and Saskatchewan have to offer.