Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds gathered in sunny downtown Calgary Friday morning to usher in the 112th Calgary Stampede. .Hundreds of thousands of spectators celebrated the annual event, where more than 100 acts, including bands, representation from all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces, First Nations groups, equine, dancing, wagons carrying politicians and a robot dog. Even the Ghostbusters made an appearance. . Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith rode horses, and waved at crowds. Newly elected NDP leader Naheed Nenshi was present in the crowd. .Parade Marshal Owen Crow Shoe, an actor who stars in Horizon: An American Saga, led the parade followed by a marching band, the bagpipes, and Stampede Cheerleaders. Amber Marshall, Chris Potter and Shaun Johnston of the Canadian television series Heartland served as honourary judges. “It was great, I really enjoyed it” Marshall told the Western Standard after the parade. “And the weather — you know usually on Parade Day you expect some rain, but today it’s beautiful.”“The fastest two hours I can remember in a long while, and this is the best seat I’ve had for a parade too!” said Johnston. .The Heartland stars were tight-lipped on which act they would select as winner. “We need a little deliberation," joked Johnston. “We need to talk about it amongst ourselves and get back to you,” said Marshall, smiling. “Every category had a contender,” added Potter. .The Western Standard spoke to multiple local Stampeders, as well as people who have travelled from Ontario, Belgium and Germany for the world renown event. Many people who attended are annual Stampede goers, including several grandparents who bring the little ones to start new traditions — but several still said it was their first Stampede, including two Chinese students who were excited to see the costumes and dancing, and a relative visiting family from Belgium who was looking forward to the music and dancing. Yet, when asked what was people’s most memorable part of the parade, the resounding response was, “The horses were the best!” .Patrick ‘Captain Canada’ Wary, who is on Poilievre’s campaign team and walked with him in the parade, told the Western Standard the show was “fantastic. He attended along with his partner, Roberta Gere, who was attending her first Stampede, and his son Aidan Mackey, who works for Smith. “Horses,” replied Gere, who sometimes does security as a volunteer for Poilievre’s team, when asked what her favourite part of the parade.“We’ve been talking to a lot of the police officers and staff of the parade. They work hard to put this show on, and every year it keeps getting better and better. It was amazing. The city of Calgary is amazing,” said Wary. Wary, who is retired, said he goes to the rallies and other events with Poilievre and helps with recruitment. “We just travel around to wherever Pierre goes — I think you call it a super fan,” he joked. .Calgarian Juliette Toner said “it was really great, lots of horses, I really like that!” When asked if she’s been to the Stampede before, she responded, “Many times!”.Dodi Osenar enjoyed the fact so many people came out. “The crowd, people are really enjoying the moment. I’m happy to see it again. I loved seeing the horses, and the carriages.” . Debra Deranger said it was “interesting.” She said she enjoys the diversity, and brought her family for the day..Nationalities and cultures were represented from around the world, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, India and Ukraine..Calgarian Nazareth Mora said her favourite act was the horses. “It was really cool, I wasn't expecting so many things, so we had fun the whole way through it — it was really beautiful, everything.” “I really like horses — so everything that includes horses, that’s my favourite.”. Annette Rade from Germany attended her first Stampede with her family, and plans to head to Banff next. Ghostbusters was her favourite part of the parade Nearly every Stampeder the Western Standard spoke to was headed toward Stampede Park, where admission was free after the parade until 1: 30 p.m..
