Jul 18, 2013

Hell or High Water


Roughly 2 weeks before the Stampede, Calgary was hit with one of the worst floods and natural disasters in Canadian history. A few days after the flood hit and the recovery was under way, chatter started to spread across the city about the Stampede. Would it go on? The grounds were underwater and besides for the incredible feat of clearing them, was it even appropriate to throw the city's biggest party on the heels of something so tragic?

It wasn't long after the chatter started that the Stampede president held a press conference. The gist?  'Come hell or high water, the show will go on'. We're Calgarians after all. Yes, the flood was tragic. Yes, we are still recovering and we will be for a long time. But we're also the very best at kicking our boots up and throwing the best outdoor show on earth. For the last 100 years, the show has always gone on. 101, wasn't going to be any different. If anything, the fact that the show did go on gave the city a feeling of normalcy. A promise that things would return to the way they were. For some, quickly. For others, a little longer. But we're a community and together, we celebrated how quickly we've turned the corner from this disaster and how resilient we are. There was never a better time to celebrate Calgary than this year at the Stampede. And celebrate we did! So proud of my beautiful city. 


Ryan and I went to the grounds twice. Once, alone to marvel at the monstrous cleanup that had occurred, eat some mini donuts and take in the spectacle. The second time we visited the grounds was the last night of the Stampede. We were lucky enough to sit on the patio at Ranahans (a restaurant/pub of sorts attached to the grandstand with a fantastic view of the chuck wagon races and the grandstand show itself). My mom and sister joined us for the evening and it was lovely. 

We are now officially mini-donuted out, back to regular life and feeling all sorts of grateful and proud to be Calgarians. 

1 comment:

  1. I love your writing! Such a great post and such a great way to come together as a community. And such adorable earrings you're wearing.

    ReplyDelete

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