Calgary Stampede Parade

it's time to get all westerned up! calgary stampede is here!
unlike the "ultra stampede", nobody dies in this one.
and it's actually a happy occasion!
they call it the greatest outdoor show on earth.
with the rodeo, carnivals, concerts etc.

so on the start of the stampede: july 4th,
there's a parade downtown.
it's a good thing it was my scheduled off day.
si faye naman, nag-absent talaga.

so we took a train, and dun palang, dami ng tao.
they were all in their cowboy hats and western attire.
i know, we might consider it baduy,
but they all look so happy getting "westerned up" na parang nakakahawa ang energy nila. gusto ko na tuloy mag cowboy boots.

syempre we saw a number of marching bands:


cute vintage cars and weird vehicles:


first nations people (what we know as native indians like pocahontas):


and of course: lots of horses and cowboys:


because there's a lot of horses participating in the parade, we can't avoid the presence of horse poop in the streets.
in fact, isa sa mga inaabangan namin ay kung sino sa mga marching band ang mamalasin na makaapak ng tae.
kasi diba, their in a line so parang ang hirap umiwas. plus, if they're playing an instrument, mas mahirap mag pay attention sa nilalakaran.
but in fairness, onti lang sa kanila ang minalas.
hmmm... mukang alert ang karamihan sa kanila.

here's the sweepers cleaning up the poop

but ang pinakanabilib ako is with the army as seen in this video:

ang galing no?

anyway, the parade lasted for almost 4 hours.
well, di naman sila as in sunod sunod like the parades in the philippines.
may mga interval between entries and floats so you appreciate each of them.

and it wasn't that crowded.
not like in manila na nararamdaman mo na yung hininga ng nasa likod mo sa sobrang siksikan. here, everyone maintains a reasonable distance. plus it wasn't that warm, kaya presko parin. walang bumaho sa crowd. ehehehe...