Tartans, veils and feathers — lots of feathers — will join the parade of boots and hats at the Stampede this summer.
A new partnership with GlobalFest showcasing world cultures is not so much a move away from a proud western history as a welcoming of Calgary’s multicultural reality.
“We’ve been working with different associations for years now and trying to share that Stampede message . . . and what we’ve learned in that process is how diverse the culture is in Calgary, and there’s a real opportunity to leverage Stampede to showcase it,” said Allison Wright, midway programming manager with the Stampede.
“We’re redefining ourselves as well. We still are very heavily a western culture but that definition has evolved.”
Allison Wright, Calgary Stampede programming manager, and Ken Goosen, Globalfest producer, are joined by dancers form Brazil, Scotland and Thailand at Stampede park on May 31, 2016. They announced a new partnership which will showcase cultural groups at the Stampede this year.
The partnership announced Tuesday includes new programming for the upper level of the Big Four Building, which was the former home of the SuperDogs show. A new Canine Stars show is moving outside, leaving a large exhibition space for the new International Pavilion. Calgary’s diverse cultures will be reflected here in music, dance and performances on a community stage, and shopping at the International Street Market.
“Over the past 20 years the face of Calgary has changed. Increasingly we’ve become a global city with people from all over the world calling Calgary home; the western heritage, the new frontier,” said Ken Goosen, producer with GlobalFest, best known for its annual fireworks festival at Elliston Park each August. “The Calgary Stampede is an outstanding organization . . . to partner with to celebrate the incredible ethnic dynamic this city has.”
A variety of cultural groups, from Blackfoot and Brazilian to Venezuelan and Woezo African, will perform during four shows daily at the Stampede as part of the Sunbelt Rentals OneWorld Festival.
Making a return trip to headline in the International Theatre is the Peking Acrobats, one of the top attractions of the 2014 Stampede. Now on their 30th anniversary tour, the troupe of contortionists and acrobats perform Guinness World Record feats such as balancing six people on seven chairs, all without safety lines.
The Peking Acrobats will perform three or four shows daily on the upper level of the Big Four.
All of the cultural performances are free with Stampede Park admission and times are listed on the Stampede’s website at www.calgarystampede.com/stampede/schedule.
“We are so excited for this new programming and international theme . . . to bring a new vibrancy to Stampede,” said Wright. “It feels really good. It feels right for our city and it’s exciting for our community groups.”
