Everything you need to know about the 2024 Calgary Stampede
The Thursday Calgary Stampede lineup promises high energy and good music, featuring freestyle motocross at the Monster Energy Compound, and classic rockers Mötley Crüe.
134,669 people visited the Stampede on Wednesday, down from Sunday’s all-time-high daily attendance of 201,260 people.
The total 2024 Stampede attendance to date is 905,372 people.
Calgary Stampede music picks for July 10
Cowboys Music Festival
Who: Steve Aoki, doors open at 2 p.m.
One of Cowboys’ more unusual pairings will have the adventurous American DJ, EDM artist and producer Steve Aoki co-headlining with Tyler Hubbard, formerly of mainstream-country duo Florida Georgia Line. Aoki has used global influences in a highly successful career that has seen him expanding the boundaries of electronic dance music, winning acclaim and a Grammy nod in the process.
Scotiabank Saddledome
Who: Mötley Crüe, doors open at 6:40 p.m.
Mötley Crüe plays the Saddledome with special guest, Canadian rock band, Default at 7:30 p.m. The band remains hugely successful 40+ years into their career and, in the summer of 2022 co-headlined a nearly sold out North American stadium tour with Def Leppard. Tickets to Mötley Crüe and Default include admission to Stampede Park on the day of the event.
Badlands Music Festival
Who: Tyga and Quavo
Chart-topping tapper Tyga is back the Badlands Music Festival for the second year in a row on Thursday night, alongside one-third of the Migos, AKA Quavo. Local acts Disoriental and DJ C-Sik will also put on performances.
Increased emphasis on sustainability, waste management at this year’s Stampede
With more than a million visitors expected to pass through the Calgary Stampede gates this year, the 10-day festival will produce a staggering amount of waste.
But a variety of sustainability initiatives and partnerships aim to make this year’s Stampede one of the greenest, most eco-friendly iterations yet.
Kori Stosky is the Stampede’s sustainability specialist, hired to help reduce the festival’s environmental footprint.
She said some new additions this year will help increase the Stampede’s diversion rate, which refers to how much trash is kept out of Calgary’s landfills. Year-round, she said the Stampede diverts 85 per cent of its waste, and is aiming to achieve a similar metric during the 10-day festival.
To help reach that target, the Stampede’s sustainability efforts are focusing on six priority areas this year, according to Stosky, including energy use, waste, water conservation, food, community and biodiversity.
At stock dog championships, relationship between owner and dog key
Kier Scott had been having relationship problems. He couldn’t get his stock dog, Blue, to follow his instructions before a championship.
“I think he’s been working bad, and he thinks I’m an idiot,” said Scott, who is 28.
Blue is a black three-and-a-half-year-old Border Collie, who wagged his tail and paced around his boss with an unbridled energy.
Scott and Blue were half an hour away from a competition at Stampede, in which Blue would be expected to force a herd of sheep to follow a certain path. Scott, however, seemed unsure about Blue’s performance.
“I don’t know, we’ll see … Winning this is $10,000, so there’s quite a bit of motivation,” he said, as Blue stared at him blankly with his eyes wide open.
A behind-the-scenes look at Rangeland Derby horse care, driver rituals
Just like other high-level athletes, horses need time to rest and recuperate.
Veteran chuckwagon driver Ray Croteau Jr. has taken full advantage of a new service being provided near the Calgary Stampede barns.
“There’s a spa at the end of the barn that I’ve been utilizing,” said Croteau on Tuesday during a barn tour for media members to learn about the daily activities of drivers and how they care for their horses. “It’s an ice-bath spa — a couple horses just need a little extra maintenance like football players, hockey players icing their legs, things like that.”
Billed as ‘elite equine therapy for the elite equine athlete,’ Soak Equine is a mobile salt water spa trailer where horses can, literally, get into a stand-up tub big enough to provide a cooling bath for their legs.
Stampede visitors seek out heat relief as sun sears grounds
The sun continued to beat down on the Stampede grounds Tuesday, forcing many visitors to seek shade, shelter or solace in cold drinks.
Inside the Nutrien Western Event Centre, Carl Klywak and Stella Chan, both from Calgary, were among dozens of people lined up Tuesday afternoon waiting to fill water bottles at a fountain station before heading back into the sun.
“I was born and raised here and I can’t remember growing up it being this hot. It almost seems like every year it’s getting hotter and hotter,” said Chan.
“Normally, every year we would dress up but this year we’re like, ‘no, I’m forgoing the Stampede boots, the cowboy hat. This year we even brought our chilly pads,” she said of the cooled, wet wraps on their necks.
Alberta bronc riders to star in Stampede’s Showdown Sunday
Get ready to cheer on the home-grown boys on Showdown Sunday at the Calgary Stampede.
At least that’s the case in saddle bronc, with five Albertans — and counting — slated to ride for the championship bronze and the $50,000 king’s cheque.
“Yeah … everybody’s doing good,” said Lucas Macza, praising the efforts of himself and the Alberta contingent in bronc riding.
“It’s awesome to be here with all my buddies and be able to make it to Sunday,” continued Macza. “It’s unreal.”
In particular, Macza is moving on to the championship day after Wednesday’s big day for Albertans in rodeo’s original event.
What our photographers saw
