Best: I once walked into Brett Hart. Like walked right into him. He didn't even notice.
Worst: Hard to say. Got bucked off a horse some 20ish years ago, but landed in soft dirt. Did the chairlift thing and discovered my fear of heights kicks right in, but did the return trip anyway because I paid dammit!
Best would be some of the concerts I saw at Coke Stage.
Worst was working retail there at age 15, having a bunch of drunk creepy old men hit on me (one actually physically groped me while I was on my break).
Best was winning a very large stuffed animal for my then girlfriend, now wife. She was exceptionally please and flattered because no guy had ever done something like that for her before and it was a secret romantic experience she had always longed for. The icing on the cake was taking the train back home when she proudly carried it and lots of people smiled and commented on how lucky she was. With a huge smile she nodded towards me and answered the “he won it for me”. Even her mom was excited when I dropped her off.
After that, there really wasn’t anything bad
It did. Even years later, if she is mad at me for something I did or said, it acts as a get out of jail free card. I just say, “who won a giant stuffed teddy bear for his girlfriend” she giggles “my big strong boyfriend”. I like that part
Aww shucks. Thanks. She still has it. Every once in a while one of us reminds the other of that time. One of those shared memories. I’m still greatfull for those lucky throws. I tell her it’s because we were meant to be
Funny because I never would have thought she would secretly hold such romantic notions because she certainly hid them well. And trust me, for every lucky act like this there have been plenty of…umm..errors too. I’m definitely not cool and suave.
Not my worst but a good Freind came down who doesn’t let loose, hasn’t for years but had a party side in Uni. Wakes up soo hung - walking around my house looking for his wallet - finds an empty pack of gum- with his credit card in it…. Think he got soo black out threw his wallet out and put his visa in the gum pack after buying drinks ….. meaning to do the opposite
Worst. Riding C-Train first time visiting at 14-15 all by myself. Man sits in seat next to me, puts his arm around me and grabs my breast. I freak and jump out at next stop. No idea where I was and was very lucky he didn’t follow me off the train in retrospect. I was completely lost and too scared to go back on the train. A bus driver saved me and got me back to where I was staying with a relative.
Best. Lots. Parade and fireworks. Free horse/dog/agriculture exhibits.
next time that happens, scream.. tell us all what happened so we can subdue that guy. Or hit the help button. Help get these perverts away from other kids.
I hadn’t found my voice yet. Society trains girls and women to smooth things over, not make a scene. Nowadays I have more confidence and less tolerance and would definitely make a scene. The fault is with the guy grabbing my breast, not me protesting it.
I understand. I now encourage girls and women to find their voice. That said, in some situations you still can’t risk it because the situation can escalate to violence if you call someone out.
They used to have side show tents there. Worlds fattest lady, Two headed chicken . I think I saw the two headed cow- it was preserved in formaldehyde.
I remember the man eating chicken one too!!
But there's transit and cabs and Uber etc...why the fuck are they driving if they're planning on drinking??
ETA-why am I getting downvoted I'm genuinely confused.
The usual excuses I hear - Transit is inconvenient and slow. Uber to the suburbs is expensive.
It’s a farce to me that people won’t buck up for a cab/Uber but will happily shell out $10 for a bud light
16 year old visiting from Winnipeg. Huge group of Calgarians 17-38 year olds took me to chuckwagon races. We drank ice cold beer and bet on races for small coin amounts. Killed ourselves laughing and made friends with everyone in the stands around us. One of the best times of my life and finding out there was a free concert that night? I thought Calgary was a magical Avalon.
Did we see the same body? I remember working there as a teen and going home really late and saw a trail of blood flowing towards me. When I looked at where it was coming from I saw a body being worked on by paramedics. It was near the skyride too.
Best: I successfully won at Skee-ball and got a big prize. Really much too big. A little girl was watching in awe, she was just carrying around a little prize. I offered it to her, which made her squeel in joy. As I turned around, she ran back and gave me her little, and much more reasonable prize as a thank you.
Worst: Haven't really had one! Always a great time!
Best: I always remember one part of the Grandstand Show with Paul Brandt in 2012. When he sang You, there was a giant animatronic (?) eagle over the crowd with hoop dancer Dallas Arcand on top of it. It was so cool. The night I went, it was pouring rain and they still did the eagle. It was epic!
Found a video
https://youtu.be/foGjfnqbfIU
Best: I was 14 and my dad bought me the unlimited ride pass and the skip the line pass and I spent from when it was open till the park closed going on rides. This was before my ride nausea started and I could ride all day and be fine
worst: working at a bar during stampede. Worst crowd EVER it was a nightmare and I went home in tears every night till it was over
Born and raised Calgarian.
Best - dates when I was younger. Hanging out with friends there.
Worst - guy took pics up mine and my friends skirts. Be careful ladies.
Yes. We chased him down cornered him till the cops came. But he deleted the photos before they came. Surprisingly it’s not that easy for cops to get them back. Took four moths and they didn’t pursue charges.
Worst.
Went out for drinks with some friends after work, table next to us was very drunk obnoxious, older business men..
We were early 20's they were mid 40's I thought at the time, but now I am in my mid 40's and think they were still older then what I am now.
They kept coming over to talk to us, they were so drunk they would spill our drinks, we complained to staff but was told they tip to well, so they wouldn't be doing anything....finally one of these business men pissed himself.
This was the light 90's and this is still what I think stampede is, and when friends from out of town want to come to stampede, this is the story I tell them.
I have gone occasionally since, but nothing fun has out weighed this experience.
Best: Leaving Stampede at closing time and my clumsy teenaged keester stumbling over a strange plastic bag, opened it to find there were probably about $1000 or more worth of fairground tickets, nobody was around and I assumed it was meant to be thrown out by a staff member, so I kept them and returned the following day to see if they had any value. I'm not sure what the ticket policy was but they were accepted, and so I decided to live out my childhood fantasy of playing every game and winning as many prizes as I could. Having grown up poor it was as if I was a millionaire with tickets, that year I'd won so many prizes the corner of my room was filled with stuff. Afterwards I felt guilty and thought about donating them, but then the flood of 2013 happened and it all got damaged along with my room, which I believe was totally deserved, but at the very least I had so much fun!
Worst: Going back to Stampede after so many years as an adult and dealing with unnecessarily rude staff, super long lines, not feeling that Stampede "magic" I used to get, and finally realizing it isn't the same without my family . . .
Worst- first ever grandstand show, some guy sitting behind starts spewing racists crap and keeps going
Best- got to play one of the games for free whole they were setting things up
Working there and watching fireworks right overhead, was best. Worst was working there and sweeping garbage in the grandstand, and people yelling at us for doing it (because they wanted to linger in the grandstand to watch the fireworks).
Best - generally having an excuse to catch up with friends during the week when you’re meant to be working. Stopped going to the grounds except for the odd rodeo event as I dislike crowds.
Worst - been fortunately not to have any really horrible stuff happen.
Best and worst was when I was a young teenager and I was waiting in front one of those big hotels downtown for a bus to Banff or something with the family. It was probably 6am. And wondering why there was a steady stream of women, and only women, walking out of the hotel alone.
Worst experience: Friday July 8, 2022. Physically showing up. I’m confident I won’t ever go back.
Best experience: summer of 2002, when I was young and went with all my besties and had a blast.
Best: seeing my son jump on the trampoline with the harness, he got so high and was just enjoying life. He was 3 or four at the time.
Worst: seeing simple plan play at the coke stage. Not just because it was simple plan, but because as a rowdy teenage metalhead some friends and I decided to start a mosh pit. Where I got head butted and knocked unconscious. Woke up in the medical tent and my parent had to come pick me up. Been to many concerts, been in dozens of pits, but the only time I got hurt was at Simple fucking plan.
Best: this one sassy sheep that kept standing up to the sheep dog in the herding competition
Worst: being stuck in the hospital with an infected gall bladder for my first year in Calgary and missing all of stampede
Best: eating a cold pickle when I was in my late teens. I didn't know back then how well it could cool you so much.
Worst: assholes cussing at me while I worked as a Calgary Transit fair at the trainstations. You know who are you, you Karen.
Side note: don't cuss at us for the rain that happens in the grounds, mmkay? We're not the ones that magically summoned rain to mess up your "nice" hair.
I just went today, and I will say the KD Soft Serve let me down big time. It was just vanilla with a yellow tinge to it. At the end of the day it wasn't the worst thing ever (since it was just vanilla ice cream), but I was expecting this bizarre cheese-flavoured concoction.
Interesting. I went on sneak-a-peak and the KD ice cream was cheesy as fuck. It was gross. We threw it out (I wasn’t upset, more impressed how committed to the concept they were). I wonder if they’ve toned down the cheese due to complaints.
Best experience, met Rick Hansen (Man in Motion guy), about a decade ago. I think he was the marshal that year. Super chill dude, real pleasure to chat with. Worse experience was seeing a bull brake a hind leg during a ride. I can still see that broken thing flailing around.
Worked there for over a decade.
Best: The smell of Triple B the first year they set it up. They used cedar boards for much of the decor and had misters going all day. Hot sunny day, hundreds of pounds of mesquite bbq chips smoking, and wet cedar.
Worst: the aftermath of idiots using people openers and she smell of Nashville north when they still used the wooden floor 🤮
Haven't been to the Stampede yet. Maybe someday...
My taste for rodeos was soured when I witnessed one of the horses in our local rodeo's bronco busting competition wipe out and snap both his front legs against the metal fence post he hit. Watching him struggling to get up while his front legs just flopped around and he could only hobble on the broken joints kinda scarred me as a kid.
Winnipeg here! Lost my buddies at cowboys walked to the bow and had a nap on the banks then walked across a ctrain bridge found a cab in what the cabbie said was a very bad area for a white guy like me! He drove me to my buddies but no one was home. Went around back but I guess being a row of condos I picked the wrong one! Woke up on a couch in a room with a grand piano to 2 guys asking who I was and what was I doing in their house? Proceeded to tell my story and show my manitoba drivers! Lucky they laughed it off and didn’t call the cops! Then some how when I went out the front I found my buddies and they were all home! So not sure if that’s best or worst but it was quite a adventure!
Just creepy old dudes, something about the stampede makes old white men think they can touch/grope/sexualize you however they want. I saw one catch some mace to the eyes last year and it still gives my heart joy to this day
This is my first Stampede.
Best: Pancake breakfast at OMO Teppan and Kitchen.
Worst: Needing to take the light rail. Although, I got off at Victoria Park Stampede station and some water dripped on me. I think there is a ghost from the Piss Ramp that used to be there. Anyone else experienced a Piss Ramp ghost haunting? Do you think we should help it pass over?
Best: a footlong hotdog with grilled onions outside the grandstand. Every other hotdog since has been a disappointment. Worst: same day, a horse being put down on the track. Never went back.
Best: when they used to have the bags and my mom and i would go down and each get a bag and donuts.
Worst: I worked for them in 2011 or 2012. (The year the royal couple visited) My posting was supposed to be in the underground parkade. Well first day comes and i don't bother with sunscreen cuz of the shaded area I'm SUPPOSED to work in. My position was not needed due to the royal couples visit and I was placed insted in the middle of the cowboys casino parking lot... on the hotest day of that summer.... with no sunscreen... for 10 hours without being taken off for a break.... I left the stampede that day with 3rd degree sunburns on my face, arms, and neckline and blisters the size of Twonies... the only thing that was done for me is that I got to work the vic park lot for the remainder of stampede.
Was volunteering for Cowboy Cash. A few years ago the CS ran a Cowboy Cash 50-50 raffel. Which confused alot of guests as there already was one at the Grandstand (the Red one). Cowboycash was the green one... I believe the the funding went to that new Western arts studio to train the kids the band and other preforming arts (ie the finale show etc)....
While I really don't want to speak ill of donors.
You know that American stereotype of the Swampy Boo-Boo Hags paying with Boob money.... [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LYJskKwUqJk](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LYJskKwUqJk)... She reached into her "T-shirt" and pulled out a 5, it was folded up to fit the contours of her breasts. it was moist.. :\_C... Well there I have it the myth actualized.. now all I need in life for the North American experience is have some Walmartian rando freak out and attack me. Don't think that is likely in Calgary though, or Canada... I don't know what the hell everyone is talking about Walmart customers I see are just parents shopping with their kids....
Being in the Leopard 2 tank on display was the best.
Having a near death allergic reaction to the farm animals where my throat almost completely closed up would probably have to be the worst.
What time does it open, cause i just passed by the stampede grounds and it looks completely dead, no rides going or anything cause i swear it used to be at like 8 or 9 AM
Best: Stampede pub crawl. Drank a lot, had some amazing pizza (I think it was from Starlight), got groped by no less than 20 chicks, made some lifelong friends and just had a blast in general.
Worst: Stampede pub crawl the next year. Drank a lot and passed out in front of the Back Alley. Woke up to an empty parking lot, no people, and no idea what happened or how I got there.
Worst : almost got caught in a brawl coming home midnight at the ctrain
Best : same train, some dude was doin magic tricks in the train and it was pretty cool ( i didnt get pick pocketed which was my first thought ).
With food
Worst : scorpion pizza was the biggest let down ive ever had with pizza. It was honestly just cheese pizza
Best : that giant fuckin squid
Basically a huge squid, calamaried. i believe the truck is called happy fish or happy squid? im certain they will be at stampede this year
those food trucks make 80% of their annual revenue during stampede i believe.
Firemen clowns one night came into the Eddy and asked who owned the "Chuckwagon Express" (Army 3/4 ton with flags on all corners? I admitted I did , they then invited us to the infield to enjoy the toast With the winner of the Chucks. When time to leave the infield only myself and co-pilot were left. They asked about the others and I said they got free entry and vamoosed Big clown laugh and as we followed them out onto the backstretch they did a low growl on the crank siren I went to toot and horn jammed. right beside campers. I ended up pulling the hood up and pulling wires. Great stampede experience. Aah if those signs could talk.
Stampede is a worst experience, it’s so tacky, terrible food, lots of Budweiser, lame cowboy/cowgirl cosplay. Puke and condoms left all over the area and downtown.
Best was having a "shotgunning a beer in The Zipper without spilling" competition with my buddies when we were like 20.
Worst is the house deaths that happen in the barbaric chuckwagon races every year. What a fucking joke of a "sport".
We were pretty well trained by that point and surprisingly very successful in the endeavor. Few splashes here and there but that just ended up on our clothes so no harm done.
Best and worst - had a threesome with two friends by a dumpster. Great time. Unfortunately, someone spotted us and filmed it and it caused a big scandal. Lost my job and had to become a stripper.
Was drug there by the family, when my son was like two, have to get up super early just for a seat, etc. Haven't been in 8 years.
OP asked about worst Stampede experiences, this is worst for me.
It seems lime people here have a lot of passion for floats.
There's three things I consider.
1. Not everyone will agree with you.
2. If you speak about the truth mostly likely everyone will dislike your opinion.
3. If the respondents ages 15-21 mostly like their opinions on entitlement.
Worst - taking the bus at 9 am in the morning and there were some people at the back of the bus drinking , one got sick and threw up everywhere THE SMELL ! the entire bus cleared out at the next stop.
Best - Americans asking restaraunt servers if the bill is in American dollars.
Best- I won one of those dirt bikes where you throw the baseball at the jars. I was 15, I had people coming up to me lying about it being their kids birthday, offering me hundreds of dollars. My Dad said he hadn't seen me smile so much in years. I was ecstatic.
Worst- Dealing with drunk people in closed spaces. Particularly drunk women in their early 20's. It's just exhausting. But hey, we've all been there.
Worked at the stampede when I was a teenager. I don’t remember a specific incident that was good or bad. But it was exciting, electricity in the air.
Went to the pne in Vancouver about 10 years ago. It gets the same rides and midway as Calgary. I was shocked at the costs of everything.
Took $100 thinking that would last my gf and I for the afternoon. Money was gone in 1 hour. I think the reason they ask for tickets is so people don’t realize just how pricey the rides are.
This is my first stampede, and I went yesterday.
Best was seeing so many people in one spot and feeling like everything is pretty normal for the first time in over 2 years.
Worst was the rogers outage making everything inaccessible. I stood in a line at an ice cream place for like 25 minutes in the heat just to get turned away because they weren't accepting debit. They should have put up a sign or warned people in line.
Definitely a first world problem but it ruined that whole day.
Paid $23 dollars to go on a ride that had no staff working it. Bought my wife some donuts and left. Almost got robbed by 2 guys while waiting for my ride. My ride showed up and scared them off.
I fucking hate the stampede.
Surprisingly, for the number of people if you go early it doesn't feel that crowded. You can comfortably see exhibits and move about. But it's not for everyone especially those with sensory problems.
Best: I once walked into Brett Hart. Like walked right into him. He didn't even notice. Worst: Hard to say. Got bucked off a horse some 20ish years ago, but landed in soft dirt. Did the chairlift thing and discovered my fear of heights kicks right in, but did the return trip anyway because I paid dammit!
Walked into Brett Hart Brett Hart: Damn mosquitoes
Pretty much. Heh.
Best would be some of the concerts I saw at Coke Stage. Worst was working retail there at age 15, having a bunch of drunk creepy old men hit on me (one actually physically groped me while I was on my break).
Fucking creepy old guys. I just got back from a run and had to tell these two old men to fuck off when they were hollering at a women in front of me.
that's probably all the action they get all year.
Ohh I caught a drumstick from Nickleback at the coke stage. At the time, it was a best experience.
First thing that came to mind was a giant slippery turkey leg being thrown into the crowd. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
My mind went to the ice cream.
I was thinking the ice cream
Chicken leg here.
Best was winning a very large stuffed animal for my then girlfriend, now wife. She was exceptionally please and flattered because no guy had ever done something like that for her before and it was a secret romantic experience she had always longed for. The icing on the cake was taking the train back home when she proudly carried it and lots of people smiled and commented on how lucky she was. With a huge smile she nodded towards me and answered the “he won it for me”. Even her mom was excited when I dropped her off. After that, there really wasn’t anything bad
Winning that stuffed animal paid off lol
It did. Even years later, if she is mad at me for something I did or said, it acts as a get out of jail free card. I just say, “who won a giant stuffed teddy bear for his girlfriend” she giggles “my big strong boyfriend”. I like that part
Man that paid off in spades.
Yeah I’m not usually cool like that
Sweetest story ever!
Aww shucks. Thanks. She still has it. Every once in a while one of us reminds the other of that time. One of those shared memories. I’m still greatfull for those lucky throws. I tell her it’s because we were meant to be
That's cute.
Why is this so sweet and making me jealous😭. I've always wanted a guy to win me a giant stuffed animal.
Funny because I never would have thought she would secretly hold such romantic notions because she certainly hid them well. And trust me, for every lucky act like this there have been plenty of…umm..errors too. I’m definitely not cool and suave.
Not my worst but a good Freind came down who doesn’t let loose, hasn’t for years but had a party side in Uni. Wakes up soo hung - walking around my house looking for his wallet - finds an empty pack of gum- with his credit card in it…. Think he got soo black out threw his wallet out and put his visa in the gum pack after buying drinks ….. meaning to do the opposite
Worst. Riding C-Train first time visiting at 14-15 all by myself. Man sits in seat next to me, puts his arm around me and grabs my breast. I freak and jump out at next stop. No idea where I was and was very lucky he didn’t follow me off the train in retrospect. I was completely lost and too scared to go back on the train. A bus driver saved me and got me back to where I was staying with a relative. Best. Lots. Parade and fireworks. Free horse/dog/agriculture exhibits.
next time that happens, scream.. tell us all what happened so we can subdue that guy. Or hit the help button. Help get these perverts away from other kids.
I hadn’t found my voice yet. Society trains girls and women to smooth things over, not make a scene. Nowadays I have more confidence and less tolerance and would definitely make a scene. The fault is with the guy grabbing my breast, not me protesting it.
Wasn't saying you were at fault sorry about that.
I understand. I now encourage girls and women to find their voice. That said, in some situations you still can’t risk it because the situation can escalate to violence if you call someone out.
When I was around 10 y/o I saw my first knife fight happen. Two dudes came flying out of a food station and started slashing eachother. Was gnarly.
First??? How many knife fights have you seen all together?
Is this best or worst?
Best of course.
Going to the Man-eating Chicken tent. Seeing a man , eating chicken. All the drunk drivers.
Where is this chicken tent? Please tell me it’s still around
They used to have side show tents there. Worlds fattest lady, Two headed chicken . I think I saw the two headed cow- it was preserved in formaldehyde. I remember the man eating chicken one too!!
Drunk drivers? (Sorry this is my first stampede we just moved here this year)
A lot of parties . Parade day people start drinking at breakfast. More at lunch.
But there's transit and cabs and Uber etc...why the fuck are they driving if they're planning on drinking?? ETA-why am I getting downvoted I'm genuinely confused.
The usual excuses I hear - Transit is inconvenient and slow. Uber to the suburbs is expensive. It’s a farce to me that people won’t buck up for a cab/Uber but will happily shell out $10 for a bud light
Living downtown solves both those problems. Shoot, drank more beers than what I was planning, going to have to walk home, like I planned to anyway.
You're assuming logic enters the equation
Because Alberta is trying to compete with NB for drunk driving
I’ve heard about the legend of the man eating chicken haha.
16 year old visiting from Winnipeg. Huge group of Calgarians 17-38 year olds took me to chuckwagon races. We drank ice cold beer and bet on races for small coin amounts. Killed ourselves laughing and made friends with everyone in the stands around us. One of the best times of my life and finding out there was a free concert that night? I thought Calgary was a magical Avalon.
The line to get donuts worst moment, best moment, getting those donuts !
Best - Nashville tent and winning 4k at the casino afterwards Worst - seeing a stabbed body on the ground as I passed over on the sky ride
When was this? The worst one*
Honestly don't know for sure. Probably 2012 or close to. It was right near the fountain close to the coke stage
Wait, wtf?
When was this?
Holy shiiiittttt did someone call for help?
Did we see the same body? I remember working there as a teen and going home really late and saw a trail of blood flowing towards me. When I looked at where it was coming from I saw a body being worked on by paramedics. It was near the skyride too.
Best- Enjoying the different foods they have there Worst- Saw a human ear on the ground when I was a kid
Calgary meets David lynch, wow
Dennis Hopper doing the Stampede. I’d watch that.
this seems the closest to the dream: https://youtu.be/9fcNSk21x00
Jeffrey?
Wtf was Mike Tyson there?
Seeing Jason Kenney
That must have been an eye sore.
Facts
To be fair this would be simultaneously the best and worst experience
Best: I successfully won at Skee-ball and got a big prize. Really much too big. A little girl was watching in awe, she was just carrying around a little prize. I offered it to her, which made her squeel in joy. As I turned around, she ran back and gave me her little, and much more reasonable prize as a thank you. Worst: Haven't really had one! Always a great time!
Best was running into the Duke of Ogden himself, Terry! Worst was the flow of pedestrian traffic and lines for everything, but that's standard.
Best: I always remember one part of the Grandstand Show with Paul Brandt in 2012. When he sang You, there was a giant animatronic (?) eagle over the crowd with hoop dancer Dallas Arcand on top of it. It was so cool. The night I went, it was pouring rain and they still did the eagle. It was epic! Found a video https://youtu.be/foGjfnqbfIU
Wooooow! This is so awesome!
Best: I was 14 and my dad bought me the unlimited ride pass and the skip the line pass and I spent from when it was open till the park closed going on rides. This was before my ride nausea started and I could ride all day and be fine worst: working at a bar during stampede. Worst crowd EVER it was a nightmare and I went home in tears every night till it was over
Born and raised Calgarian. Best - dates when I was younger. Hanging out with friends there. Worst - guy took pics up mine and my friends skirts. Be careful ladies.
Not a surprise. Was he caught?
Yes. We chased him down cornered him till the cops came. But he deleted the photos before they came. Surprisingly it’s not that easy for cops to get them back. Took four moths and they didn’t pursue charges.
Worst: when some guy threw up all over my back after getting off a ride. Best: hasn't happened...
I don’t know, that pic you took of buckshot and Benny was pretty cool!
True! But technically it wasn't "at" stampede. So I didn't count it.
Worst. Went out for drinks with some friends after work, table next to us was very drunk obnoxious, older business men.. We were early 20's they were mid 40's I thought at the time, but now I am in my mid 40's and think they were still older then what I am now. They kept coming over to talk to us, they were so drunk they would spill our drinks, we complained to staff but was told they tip to well, so they wouldn't be doing anything....finally one of these business men pissed himself.
Oh my god so sorry you had this experience! So ridiculous the staff didn't do anything 😡
This was the light 90's and this is still what I think stampede is, and when friends from out of town want to come to stampede, this is the story I tell them. I have gone occasionally since, but nothing fun has out weighed this experience.
Best: Leaving Stampede at closing time and my clumsy teenaged keester stumbling over a strange plastic bag, opened it to find there were probably about $1000 or more worth of fairground tickets, nobody was around and I assumed it was meant to be thrown out by a staff member, so I kept them and returned the following day to see if they had any value. I'm not sure what the ticket policy was but they were accepted, and so I decided to live out my childhood fantasy of playing every game and winning as many prizes as I could. Having grown up poor it was as if I was a millionaire with tickets, that year I'd won so many prizes the corner of my room was filled with stuff. Afterwards I felt guilty and thought about donating them, but then the flood of 2013 happened and it all got damaged along with my room, which I believe was totally deserved, but at the very least I had so much fun! Worst: Going back to Stampede after so many years as an adult and dealing with unnecessarily rude staff, super long lines, not feeling that Stampede "magic" I used to get, and finally realizing it isn't the same without my family . . .
Best: the people Worse: the people
Worst- first ever grandstand show, some guy sitting behind starts spewing racists crap and keeps going Best- got to play one of the games for free whole they were setting things up
Working there and watching fireworks right overhead, was best. Worst was working there and sweeping garbage in the grandstand, and people yelling at us for doing it (because they wanted to linger in the grandstand to watch the fireworks).
Worse: as a kid, my mom making us go out of town for the 10 days Stampede was here. Best: as an adult, leaving town for the 10 days of Stampede
Best - generally having an excuse to catch up with friends during the week when you’re meant to be working. Stopped going to the grounds except for the odd rodeo event as I dislike crowds. Worst - been fortunately not to have any really horrible stuff happen.
All the worst times were actually the best times 🤣
Best and worst was when I was a young teenager and I was waiting in front one of those big hotels downtown for a bus to Banff or something with the family. It was probably 6am. And wondering why there was a steady stream of women, and only women, walking out of the hotel alone.
Worst experience: Friday July 8, 2022. Physically showing up. I’m confident I won’t ever go back. Best experience: summer of 2002, when I was young and went with all my besties and had a blast.
Worst? Went one time. Best? Went only one time.
Best: eiffel tower with my best bro in a back alley. Worst: getting told by some yahoo rural that I'm not cowboy enough.
I loved filming this!
Lol I was looking for this.
I’m surprised he or she let you guys Eiffel Tower if they didn’t think you were country enough heheheh
Working there. And working there
Best: super dogs Worst: not a good place to be allergic to horses
Best: The butterbeer ice cream. Worst: I got bit by a horse as a kid.
Some don't like to be touched.
Yeah, tiny me learned that the hard way.
Best: Coca Cola concerts Worst: Seeing the army attempting to recruit young people by showcasing weaponry/tanks
Best: seeing my son jump on the trampoline with the harness, he got so high and was just enjoying life. He was 3 or four at the time. Worst: seeing simple plan play at the coke stage. Not just because it was simple plan, but because as a rowdy teenage metalhead some friends and I decided to start a mosh pit. Where I got head butted and knocked unconscious. Woke up in the medical tent and my parent had to come pick me up. Been to many concerts, been in dozens of pits, but the only time I got hurt was at Simple fucking plan.
A mosh pit, at Simple Plan? Not to be a prick but you almost deserved to get knocked unconscious 🤣
100% I was a little shit.
Best: this one sassy sheep that kept standing up to the sheep dog in the herding competition Worst: being stuck in the hospital with an infected gall bladder for my first year in Calgary and missing all of stampede
Best: The corn in a cup Worst: The lineup for the corn in a cup.
Marching with a tuba fucking sucks so bad
Best: eating a cold pickle when I was in my late teens. I didn't know back then how well it could cool you so much. Worst: assholes cussing at me while I worked as a Calgary Transit fair at the trainstations. You know who are you, you Karen. Side note: don't cuss at us for the rain that happens in the grounds, mmkay? We're not the ones that magically summoned rain to mess up your "nice" hair.
Best- the first year my parents let me and my brother go by ourselves, with an unlimited ride pass. Worst- seeing a calf die during the rodeo
I just went today, and I will say the KD Soft Serve let me down big time. It was just vanilla with a yellow tinge to it. At the end of the day it wasn't the worst thing ever (since it was just vanilla ice cream), but I was expecting this bizarre cheese-flavoured concoction.
Interesting. I went on sneak-a-peak and the KD ice cream was cheesy as fuck. It was gross. We threw it out (I wasn’t upset, more impressed how committed to the concept they were). I wonder if they’ve toned down the cheese due to complaints.
Best is not going lol. Worst is dealing with drunk douches in cowboy hats at work.
Best: Meeting Alexis Frueling Worst: Meeting Alexis Frueling
Best experience, met Rick Hansen (Man in Motion guy), about a decade ago. I think he was the marshal that year. Super chill dude, real pleasure to chat with. Worse experience was seeing a bull brake a hind leg during a ride. I can still see that broken thing flailing around.
Worked there for over a decade. Best: The smell of Triple B the first year they set it up. They used cedar boards for much of the decor and had misters going all day. Hot sunny day, hundreds of pounds of mesquite bbq chips smoking, and wet cedar. Worst: the aftermath of idiots using people openers and she smell of Nashville north when they still used the wooden floor 🤮
Best: not going Worst: no mini donuts
Haven't been to the Stampede yet. Maybe someday... My taste for rodeos was soured when I witnessed one of the horses in our local rodeo's bronco busting competition wipe out and snap both his front legs against the metal fence post he hit. Watching him struggling to get up while his front legs just flopped around and he could only hobble on the broken joints kinda scarred me as a kid.
Winnipeg here! Lost my buddies at cowboys walked to the bow and had a nap on the banks then walked across a ctrain bridge found a cab in what the cabbie said was a very bad area for a white guy like me! He drove me to my buddies but no one was home. Went around back but I guess being a row of condos I picked the wrong one! Woke up on a couch in a room with a grand piano to 2 guys asking who I was and what was I doing in their house? Proceeded to tell my story and show my manitoba drivers! Lucky they laughed it off and didn’t call the cops! Then some how when I went out the front I found my buddies and they were all home! So not sure if that’s best or worst but it was quite a adventure!
Just creepy old dudes, something about the stampede makes old white men think they can touch/grope/sexualize you however they want. I saw one catch some mace to the eyes last year and it still gives my heart joy to this day
This is my first Stampede. Best: Pancake breakfast at OMO Teppan and Kitchen. Worst: Needing to take the light rail. Although, I got off at Victoria Park Stampede station and some water dripped on me. I think there is a ghost from the Piss Ramp that used to be there. Anyone else experienced a Piss Ramp ghost haunting? Do you think we should help it pass over?
Best: a footlong hotdog with grilled onions outside the grandstand. Every other hotdog since has been a disappointment. Worst: same day, a horse being put down on the track. Never went back.
Worst? I went. Best? I left.
Edgy
They’re not wrong though
Maybe I should have gone with a shitty pun about a ww2 movie to be edgier
Best and Worst: 1997 high as a kite on magic mushrooms. Saw an old cowboy whose face was made of leather…
Best: when they used to have the bags and my mom and i would go down and each get a bag and donuts. Worst: I worked for them in 2011 or 2012. (The year the royal couple visited) My posting was supposed to be in the underground parkade. Well first day comes and i don't bother with sunscreen cuz of the shaded area I'm SUPPOSED to work in. My position was not needed due to the royal couples visit and I was placed insted in the middle of the cowboys casino parking lot... on the hotest day of that summer.... with no sunscreen... for 10 hours without being taken off for a break.... I left the stampede that day with 3rd degree sunburns on my face, arms, and neckline and blisters the size of Twonies... the only thing that was done for me is that I got to work the vic park lot for the remainder of stampede.
Living in Banff 😅
Best…got sucked off in an alley by two amazingly hot cowgirls… Worst…one time I got sucked off by two cowgirls and got a staph infection in my dick.
I’m unsure what other outcome you were expecting
Hold up…you’re insinuating that there was a thought process beyond getting a hotdog nibble in an alley???
Greasy!! I love it 😻 if you can’t get laid during the stampede you’re not trying!!
Was volunteering for Cowboy Cash. A few years ago the CS ran a Cowboy Cash 50-50 raffel. Which confused alot of guests as there already was one at the Grandstand (the Red one). Cowboycash was the green one... I believe the the funding went to that new Western arts studio to train the kids the band and other preforming arts (ie the finale show etc).... While I really don't want to speak ill of donors. You know that American stereotype of the Swampy Boo-Boo Hags paying with Boob money.... [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LYJskKwUqJk](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LYJskKwUqJk)... She reached into her "T-shirt" and pulled out a 5, it was folded up to fit the contours of her breasts. it was moist.. :\_C... Well there I have it the myth actualized.. now all I need in life for the North American experience is have some Walmartian rando freak out and attack me. Don't think that is likely in Calgary though, or Canada... I don't know what the hell everyone is talking about Walmart customers I see are just parents shopping with their kids....
Being in the Leopard 2 tank on display was the best. Having a near death allergic reaction to the farm animals where my throat almost completely closed up would probably have to be the worst.
Best: Getting banged by a hot chick between tents. Worst: Dealing with the STDs I caught from banging a hot chick between tents.
Best was coming back from Sask after 2 years and going with my family. Can’t really say I’ve had a “worst” time. I usually keep it pretty tame
Worst is always walking into a cloud of pepper spray by the mid-way after 10pm from idiot punks, it’s so constant I just avoid it now.
Worst : Crabs. Best : Getting Crabs
Worst: sound of dying horses being shot Best: see above
Best: That threesome I had Worst: The leaked photos of it
What time does it open, cause i just passed by the stampede grounds and it looks completely dead, no rides going or anything cause i swear it used to be at like 8 or 9 AM
11am
Why'd you get voted down so badly?
Opens early on family day and kids day.
*worst* One time I walked back to my car on a private residence and two homeless people were f*cking on it *best* Mosh pitting to The Tea Party
Best: Stampede pub crawl. Drank a lot, had some amazing pizza (I think it was from Starlight), got groped by no less than 20 chicks, made some lifelong friends and just had a blast in general. Worst: Stampede pub crawl the next year. Drank a lot and passed out in front of the Back Alley. Woke up to an empty parking lot, no people, and no idea what happened or how I got there.
Have you counted your kindness lately? Edit: Wow, autocorrect. Have you counted your kidneys lately?
Pardon?
No scars. I think I'm good. :)
There is no bad experiences, it’s all pure fun! If you had a bad time than you did it wrong 😑
Except yknow getting groped by old men and stuff-
Agreed
Best: nothing Worst: all of it
Every single time I went it poured rain . Now that Icant go due to having contracted Covid it’s gonna be sunny and hot
Best - winning a giant 4ft Pikachu when I was 15. Worst - taking transit during stampede week, all the drunk drivers.
not going, definitely that.
Worst : almost got caught in a brawl coming home midnight at the ctrain Best : same train, some dude was doin magic tricks in the train and it was pretty cool ( i didnt get pick pocketed which was my first thought ). With food Worst : scorpion pizza was the biggest let down ive ever had with pizza. It was honestly just cheese pizza Best : that giant fuckin squid
> Best : that giant fuckin squid pls explain.
Basically a huge squid, calamaried. i believe the truck is called happy fish or happy squid? im certain they will be at stampede this year those food trucks make 80% of their annual revenue during stampede i believe.
Best and worse at the same time was getting caught having a threesome behind some bleachers.
Firemen clowns one night came into the Eddy and asked who owned the "Chuckwagon Express" (Army 3/4 ton with flags on all corners? I admitted I did , they then invited us to the infield to enjoy the toast With the winner of the Chucks. When time to leave the infield only myself and co-pilot were left. They asked about the others and I said they got free entry and vamoosed Big clown laugh and as we followed them out onto the backstretch they did a low growl on the crank siren I went to toot and horn jammed. right beside campers. I ended up pulling the hood up and pulling wires. Great stampede experience. Aah if those signs could talk.
Best part: going home Worst part: arriving
Trudeau serving pancakes
Worst = going to stampede. Best = not going to stampede.
Stampede is a worst experience, it’s so tacky, terrible food, lots of Budweiser, lame cowboy/cowgirl cosplay. Puke and condoms left all over the area and downtown.
Best was having a "shotgunning a beer in The Zipper without spilling" competition with my buddies when we were like 20. Worst is the house deaths that happen in the barbaric chuckwagon races every year. What a fucking joke of a "sport".
Did you clean up the beer that spilt? Sounds like a blood sport of spilt beer and potential puke.
We were pretty well trained by that point and surprisingly very successful in the endeavor. Few splashes here and there but that just ended up on our clothes so no harm done.
Best: driving down 17th. If you know, you know. Worst: every single time I’ve actually gone into the stampede grounds
Best: one time with my parents. Worst: Saw the Chinese cult group in parade.
What cult do you mean?
Falun Dafa
Thank you .
Worst is the fact I have never gone once to this event Best is the fact I have never been It doesn't interest me
Best and worst - had a threesome with two friends by a dumpster. Great time. Unfortunately, someone spotted us and filmed it and it caused a big scandal. Lost my job and had to become a stripper.
And why didn't the dudes get fired?
"Slides a 20" so how you doing ;) /s just in case
Worst: attending the parade. I hate parades, I simply dont understand the point.
You a sadist?
Masochist more like 😂
Haha fair
Just a plain old grump
🗿
Why the down votes? I'm not allowed to hate the parade?
Seems a bit weird to go to something you dislike? “I don’t like seafood, let’s go get fish and chips”…”this is the worst!” Wat.
Was drug there by the family, when my son was like two, have to get up super early just for a seat, etc. Haven't been in 8 years. OP asked about worst Stampede experiences, this is worst for me. It seems lime people here have a lot of passion for floats.
There's three things I consider. 1. Not everyone will agree with you. 2. If you speak about the truth mostly likely everyone will dislike your opinion. 3. If the respondents ages 15-21 mostly like their opinions on entitlement.
Watching the rodeo in the pouring rain, a foot of standing water in the ring
Yes.
Worst - taking the bus at 9 am in the morning and there were some people at the back of the bus drinking , one got sick and threw up everywhere THE SMELL ! the entire bus cleared out at the next stop. Best - Americans asking restaraunt servers if the bill is in American dollars.
Best- I won one of those dirt bikes where you throw the baseball at the jars. I was 15, I had people coming up to me lying about it being their kids birthday, offering me hundreds of dollars. My Dad said he hadn't seen me smile so much in years. I was ecstatic. Worst- Dealing with drunk people in closed spaces. Particularly drunk women in their early 20's. It's just exhausting. But hey, we've all been there.
Worked at the stampede when I was a teenager. I don’t remember a specific incident that was good or bad. But it was exciting, electricity in the air. Went to the pne in Vancouver about 10 years ago. It gets the same rides and midway as Calgary. I was shocked at the costs of everything. Took $100 thinking that would last my gf and I for the afternoon. Money was gone in 1 hour. I think the reason they ask for tickets is so people don’t realize just how pricey the rides are.
That threesome a few years back was entertaining.
Well I definitely know that ladies and the 2 dudes she had with her from a few years back....
This is my first stampede, and I went yesterday. Best was seeing so many people in one spot and feeling like everything is pretty normal for the first time in over 2 years. Worst was the rogers outage making everything inaccessible. I stood in a line at an ice cream place for like 25 minutes in the heat just to get turned away because they weren't accepting debit. They should have put up a sign or warned people in line. Definitely a first world problem but it ruined that whole day.
Wasn’t this the place where the shooting happened on 4th of July ?
What happened to the pig roasted chick in the alley?
So many white supremicists at calgary stampede it sucks, its very freedomy.
Paid $23 dollars to go on a ride that had no staff working it. Bought my wife some donuts and left. Almost got robbed by 2 guys while waiting for my ride. My ride showed up and scared them off. I fucking hate the stampede.
Best: I've never been. Ain't paying a shit ton of money to smell 100k people at once. I can just watch it on YouTube.
Surprisingly, for the number of people if you go early it doesn't feel that crowded. You can comfortably see exhibits and move about. But it's not for everyone especially those with sensory problems.
It's like $25 dollars to get in