Home of the world's greatest rodeo
Calgary throws the Stampede every July — ten days of rodeo, chuckwagon racing, and pancake breakfasts that the city treats less as an event than as a personality. It began in 1912 as a one-off show staged by an American trick roper who believed the frontier era was ending and wanted it documented before it went. It has run more or less continuously since and now draws over a million visitors. The city sits where the Bow and Elbow Rivers meet, with the Canadian Rockies visible to the west on clear days and Banff about ninety minutes away. Ranching money and oil money built the place, and both are still legible in the skyline and the boardrooms. Beyond the cowboy hat, Calgary is young, cosmopolitan, and quietly very good at food.
