The City of Calgary has cancelled all events through til the end of June..That puts the pressure on the Calgary Stampede to announce whether or not it plans to continue with year’s show which starts July 3..“All I can tell you is the (Stampede board) is taking this extraordinarly seriously,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said at a Friday press conference..“At this moment there is no news. But they will make the right decision for the community,” said Nenshi, adding it was possible the city’s order could be pushed into June..Last week, before the city’s latest order came down, Stampede CEO Warren Connell said all aspects were being studied. .“We’re assessing what could be possible or not possible with respect to all of our programming in the coming months, given that the full impact of COVID-19 on the community remains uncertain,” Warren Connell, the CEO of the Calgary Stampede, said in an interview with the Globe and Mail..“With any social-distancing requirements, it just really wouldn’t be responsible or possible for us to host a Stampede.”.The city ban on gatherings means a total of 79 events have been cancelled in June, including many charity walks and runs..Also cancelled was Nenshi’s beloved Neighbour Day, the third Saturday in June, in honour of the city’s resilience to the 2013 flooding..Also shut down by order are all the Plus 15s in the city which Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Tom Sampson said were being used by people to “mill around.”.And Sampson said the order would mean no games and the Saddledome or McMahon Stadium should NHL and CFL season’s astonishingly resume..Sampson again urged people not to gather in places like parks. He said if people get too close in parks to “just turn away..Dave Naylor is the News editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter: twitter/Nobby7694
