Stampede parade to take over Calgary’s downtown core

Calgarians have lined the streets in the downtown core to take in all the music, floats and fun of the 2023 Calgary Stampede Parade.

Months of planning went into the second-largest parade in North America, which includes more than 200 horses and 4,000 participants.

It will begin at Ninth Avenue and Third Street S.E. at 9 a.m., then move west along Ninth, past the Calgary Tower, and head all the way to 10 Street S.W.

At 10 Street S.W., the parade will turn right and go north until Sixth Avenue, where it will head east past the Bow Building to conclude at Sixth Avenue and Fourth Street S.E.

Leading the parade the entire way is Jeremy Hansen. He’s the first Canadian astronaut to voyage to the moon as part of the upcoming Artemis mission.

One of the parade watchers this year reminisced about when she participated in the event herself.

“In 1970 I was able to ride in the parade and it was probably one of the best experiences ever,” said Margaret Henderson. “We wore all white with red bandannas and it was just a blast.”

Henderson has come out to see the parade every year for the past 50 years or so and says it hasn’t really changed.

“It’s kept the important things, it always has,” she said.

“It’s gotten a little busier, but it’s still fun.”

If you want to watch the parade in person, you’ll need to head out early. More than 300,000 people came out for last year’s event, so space is expected to be tight.

CTV Calgary will also be broadcasting the event live online and on TV.