The Calgary Stampede

By 1912 the large-scale cowboy ranches of the Old West had been disappearing for years and the Calgary Stampede -- along with other exhibitions, like Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show -- was set-up to commemorate a fading way of life for younger generations and for those who still remembered the mythic era. The Canadian Northwest shared in that grand tradition, and the time was right for a great Canadian cowboy showcase. After a century of international acclaim, the western dream continues and to commemorate the early days of the great Calgary Stampede, a collection of post cards from its enthusiastic youthful years illustrates the look and feel of those exciting times. Taken from the vast post card collection held by the University of Alberta Libraries, these classic views capture all the excitement, from the championship cowboys, cowgirls, and horses, to the tragedies of defeat and injuries. The parades, the aboriginal camps, and all the lively hoopla are recalled in these images, with historical text to add context to those days of dust, sweat and glory.

Kimberly A. Williams wants the annual Calgary Stampede to change its ways. An intrepid feminist scholar with a wry sense of humour, Williams deftly weaves theory, history, pop culture and politics to challenge readers to make sense of how gender and race matter at Canada’s oldest and largest western heritage festival. Stampede examines the settler colonial roots of the Calgary Stampede and uses its centennial celebration in 2012 to explore how the event continues to influence life on the streets and in the bars and boardrooms of Canada’s fourth-largest city. Using a variety of cultural materials—photography, print advertisements, news coverage, poetry and social media—Williams asks who gets to be part of the “we” in the Stampede’s slogan “We’re Greatest Together,” and who doesn’t.

This book investigates the meanings and iconography of the Stampede: an invented tradition that takes over the city of Calgary for ten days every July. Since 1912, archetypal "Cowboys and Indians" are seen again at the chuckwagon races, on the midway, and throughout Calgary. Each essay in this collection examines a facet of the experience – from the images on advertising posters to the ritual of the annual parade. This study of the Calgary Stampede as a social phenomenon reveals the history and sociology of the city of Calgary and a component of the social construction of identity for western Canada as a whole.

With the Calgary Stampede celebrating its Centennial in 2012, the Calgary Herald delved into the past, present and future of this event -- the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. The result is a book brimming with treasured stories; with hundreds of rare and/or historical photos; the 10 most unforgettable Stampede images from each decade of the past 100 years; pages of memorabilia; a collection of the Stampede’s annual posters; and archived editorial cartoons. Also found in this book are chapters exploring ten major themes of the Stampede; stories and photos from the Centennial event itself; a reproduction of the rare program from the first Stampede in 1912 (complete with pictures and text); and writings from Stampede founder Guy Weadick before his death.

The Aldens head up north for the Calgary Stampede—a cowboy celebration of Canada's frontier spirit! But when a valuable piece of jewelry from the festival's history vanishes, the children are on the case. Can the Boxcar Children find the thief before the big show?

"After the briefest of honeymoons in 1968, Pierre Trudeau's government clashed with Alberta's conservative interests, generating antagonism that persists to this day. Trudeau's Tango, an insightful personal history, traces the tangled political relationships that developed when the charismatic statesman confronted the forces of oil and agriculture in Canada's West. Liberal insider Darryl Raymaker recounts an attempt to broker 'a marriage from hell' between the federal Liberal Party and Alberta's Social Credit government. The failure of this union is one of the reasons why the Liberals continue to struggle for favour in Alberta. Part memoir, part chronicle, Trudeau's Tango is a timely book on a provocative matter, perfect for anyone interested in Canadian history, politics, economics, or the Canadian zeitgeist of the late 1960s."--