If this sounds like Munich Oktoberfest, then you’re close. Except in this case it’s the party tents at the Calgary Stampede. Always held in July, he event’s 2022 dates are July 8-17. And it those party tents that make the Calgary Stampede the Oktoberfest of Canada.
The difference is that at Oktoberfest, you tent to plop down and stay at one tent for much of the day or night (the Hofbrauhaus is the only tent where you don’t have to be seated to get beer, making it the prime party place in Munich). At the Stampede, people tent-hop from one to another. Two of the main ones are Cowboys and Nashville North.
And instead guys wearing lederhosen and girls those cute barmaid outfits, people are dressed in cowboy boots and cowboy hats. The music is country and not oompha, for this is a county fair on steroids, with a rodeo and nightly concerts.
Called the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” the Calgary Stampede is also part Running of the Bulls with tons of people often crowding together to get to the same places so you may get trampled, tho not by a bull but by fellow Stampeders. Among the tips for attending the Stampede is to don’t push against the crowd and use hand signals to find your friends instead of yelling and screaming because nobody will hear you.
It could also be accurately described as the Spring Break with blue jeans and blue jean shorts rather than bathing suits and bikinis.
If you get the idea that this is a country-themed party in Canada, then you are correct. And a lot of it happens in the beer tents.
The Calgary Stampede, unlike Oktoberfest and Running of the Bulls and going to a Spring Break beach bash, is a ticketed event. Prices and more information are on the event’s official website, Home Page (calgarystampede.com)
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