The first Friday of July starts our traditional stampede with our Stampede parade. The Sunday following is family day where before 9am you can get on the grounds free. So the actual date the Sunday falls on varies each year. It seems Iconic, or is that Ironic that the date July 8th juxtapositions with two important events for me.
It was on Family Day, 1990 that was the 8th of July that I first saw my future first wife at the Stampede. I can still remember what she wore that day, while Arnold could tell you who hoisted the World Cup that day. It is another Anniversary for me today, because 4 years ago I asked my archer friend Cupid to fire a note to my current wife. And 4 years later she is here with me attending her first ever Stampede that happens to be family day on July 8th!
She really enjoyed being on the grounds and needless to say I had to buy her a gift to mark the occasion. The military had on display a Leopard tank from the Lord Strathcona Horse Regiment and I asked teasingly, the Sergeant to tell her that the tank was not MADE IN CHINA but I am sure Arnold could tell you from which jungle metal leopards can be spotted being made in.
So for me, Family Day, at the Stampede makes me reconsider what it means when they call the Calgary Stampede The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth and in Particular Family day, when it falls on the 8th being Femme fatale day.
