The first thing that struck me was the number of cowboy hats. We had arrived in Calgary just in time for the last day of the Stampede - but I hadn’t quite expected it to take over the streets quite so much. What I hadn’t realised was that it was also the year of Alberta’s centennial and the Stampede organisers were hosting an important part of the celebrations. Even though it was early the streets were packed as we made our way to the station and so was the train we took out to the Stampede grounds: there was a sense of growing excitement and bustle throughout the city

Arriving, the Stampede felt like a fair in superlative: stalls, rides, buskers, shows, and a combination of both local and international elements. Despite the amount of us tourists, there were also many people wearing western-style clothes in an ungimmicky way, clearly proud of their Canadian identity. Throughout our exploration of the Stampede grounds the Calgary Tower (which we visited the day after for panoramic views of the aftermath of the Stampede!), a city icon, formed a backdrop, tying its variety together. We soon discovered that dodging between shows was the best way of spending the day: these shows ranging from the amusing, like the ‘Eukanuba Super Dogs’, a camp dog show involving perfect routines and neon sets, to the plain weird, such as a riding display by a group of patriotic freemasons! As for the shopping I've never seen so many stalls stocking leather-goods! Or so many different varieties of spurs... Just wandering round was a reminder of the differences between cowboy culture and that of other Canadians I'd met while travelling around. Canada is certainly a country of great variety, unsurprising considering its size.

Anyway throughout the day the fair continued to fill up but by evening it was packed and we were in a huge queue for the final of the Chuckwagon races, the most exciting event of the day, and the centennial event following it. The Chuckwagon race was amazing, full of thrills and spills as the teams of guys tried to manoeuvre massive wagons around corners without even seeming to slow down. But it was the atmosphere of the crowd that made the event really special – banners waving, friendly banter, each person routing for their favourite team. I just picked a team off the list to support, although fortunately I didn’t place a bet with the many cowboy-booted bookies, as my lot didn’t win.

The event for Alberta’s centennial followed, a celebration of the province’s history and identity in music and dance, hosted by a woman who looked a bit like a Canadian Dolly Parton, and which included a ceremony run by and for the First Nations residents of Alberta. This was followed by a light show and fireworks, which rounded off the day brilliantly.

For such a pluralistic country as Canada, the Stampede provided a powerful expression of local pride: visiting Calgary at this time is a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anyone.