Calgary Stampede has more indoor offerings as extreme weather hits parts of Alberta – Calgary | 24CA News
The Stampede has formally kicked off, and with it, Calgary’s summer season storm season.
On Thursday evening, throughout sneak-a-peek, Stampede-goers had been battered by a late afternoon thunderstorm that inundated components of the town with heavy rain and hail.
Despite the wild climate, Stampede officers stated the crowds persevered.
“The rain didn’t dampen spirits as people got their first look at Stampede 2023,” the Calgary Stampede’s director of public security and setting Kerrie Blizard stated. “We saw above-average attendance.”
While veteran Stampede-goers aren’t strangers to the unpredictable climate throughout the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, Blizard stated there are a number of insurance policies and procedures in place, together with present delay and cancellations, a extreme climate notification system and an onsite lightning detector.
“We start getting lightning notifications as far as 50 kilometres away, so it gives us ample time to evacuate any of those high rides,” Blizard stated.
Many Albertans are already on edge this yr as a result of devastating wildfires that compelled mass evacuations and a Canada Day tornado close to Didsbury, Alta., that destroyed a number of houses.
Blizard stated Stampede officers put together for excessive climate occasions yearly.
“We do emergency tabletops every year where we practice weather events with our people in different scenarios to make sure they’re prepared to address whatever comes up.”
This yr, the Stampede stated it’s additionally together with extra indoor occasions and reveals, together with the 100 Years of Chuckwagon Racing Historical Display within the Victoria Pavilion and upgrades to the Range Food Hall within the Big Four Building.
“In past years, the BMO Centre has been the place to let a rainstorm pass through,” Blizard stated. “But this year, we have added more covered areas and more climate-controlled spaces.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
