Cool thing #31 – The Millarville Races and
Cool thing #32 – The Calgary Stampede
2 more great reasons to Explore Alberta
I love that summer starts with a big bang in Calgary. We get dressed up in red and white for Canada Day…
…and then we rock our maverick culture with an ode to western heritage for the 10 days of The Calgary Stampede. It’s the world’s largest outdoor show and one of the world’s largest music festivals.
This post will be a photo essay of how I usually spend Canada Day – at the Millarville Races – along with some food ideas for your own celebrations and then a quick look at the fun of our beloved Calgary Stampede.
Sometimes it takes an immigrant to Canada to help us pause to appreciate the freedom to celebrate our country on its birthday.
My friend Irene does that for me. She immigrated from The Netherlands where land is scarce and the people don’t take it for granted. They also appreciate that Canadians fought in WW2 to allow them to keep what land they’ve got.
My friend’s husband was originally from England. They both love that they can own a few acres of land in Canada and so every Canada Day they invite us down to enjoy being on that land in our land. We all trundle off to the nearby Millarville Races to bet on some ponies and get good and hot before returning to cold Pimm’s Cocktails (I mentioned his British heritage right?) and jump in the water.
Life is good in Canada.
I’m deeply grateful to Irene for her spirit and for the fun of joining in an event that’s been run for 109 years in Alberta – The Millarville Races. Here’s a few photos of the fun.
Of course, I also appreciate the food of this land – Alberta and Canada – and food is a big part of every Canada Day celebration for us. Here’s a look at some of my favourite things to eat on our National Holiday. You’ll note lots of great red and white foods.
From Canada Day feasting we roll right into The Calgary Stampede. I’ve got 30 plus years of Stampeding under my belt buckle now and I love the spirit our city shares with the world each year. It’s really something to experience. I hope you all get to come and savour it all for yourselves. Here’s some photos of what its like for me and mine.
Special thanks to Irene DeBruin for her Canada Day spirit and for Richard and Nora Seto for their Stampede Spirit!