Music

Stampede Roundup 2017 moving to Shaw Millennium Park for July 11 event

The Stampede Roundup has wrangled itself up a new home.

Calgary’s premiere ’Pede party and corporate concert event will be moving to Shaw Millennium Park this year for its annual fundraiser taking place July 11.

The event is leaving its longtime home at Fort Calgary due to recent issues the site has had due to inclement weather. 

The 2015 X-Fest and last year’s Oxford Stomp Stampede concert were cancelled as a result of heavy rains that made the site unsafe for the 10,000-plus fans that were expected to attend.

“The safety, security and event experience is our top priority and we are delighted to have secured a site that offers the site conditions necessary to safely promote a large-scale event in all weather conditions,” said Caitlin Boyle, executive producer of The Stampede Roundup, in a news release announcing the move. 

“We are very excited to bring the next chapter of The Stampede Roundup to our guests, at a new location that will bring to life the vision we have of carrying on the event’s 20-plus years Stampede tradition and legacy!”

Organizers also pointed to the recent East Village expansion around Fort Calgary, which, on a positive note, they’d acknowledged in a previous release, “has created a tremendous new inner city Calgary community, however that brings with it a significant increase in traffic to the area as well as new sensitivities to running events of this scale in the area.”

In moving to the Shaw Millennium location, however, they believe they’ve addressed both of those issues.

Event organizers are also planning on utilizing the adjacent Mewata Armoury as part of the concert setting, an indoor option for the Stampede celebration.

“It is a beautiful building which provides a great backdrop to the site, and we are excited to be the first major event to have the opportunity to incorporate Mewata into the Shaw Millennium Park venue,” said Boyle.

And, in keeping with the new venue, the Stampede Roundup also said that its fundraising and philanthropic thrust would turn to “supporting Canadian Armed Forces recognized charities that focus on our wounded soldiers and their families. 

“We can’t think of a better charity or cause than to provide support to Canada’s ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, First Responders and their families.”

Previous Stampede Roundups have featured performances from such high-calibre talent as Bryan Adams, The Tragically Hip and, at last year’s event, costumed classic rockers Kiss along with The Cult and Moist.

The lineup for this year’s event is expected to be announced in the coming months. 

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