Stories of Alberta: Wainwright Stampede
A look back on the last 70 years of the Wainwright Stampede
Small-town pride is no joke. Year after year and regardless of where they call home, community members work hard to keep their towns' long-standing traditions and history alive, even without the resources more readily available in larger cities.
This is the case for the east-central Alberta town of Wainwright, where they have loads of history to be proud of and celebrate. For example, the town’s Memorial Clock Tower has stood the test of time for nearly 100 years and was the only structure left standing after the "worst fire in the history of small-town Alberta" in 1929.
But the clock tower isn’t the only piece of town history Wainwright is proud of. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the town's crown jewel, the Wainwright Stampede.
Stampede beginnings
It all started in the dead of winter in February of 1954 when a few local community-minded people founded the Wainwright Frontier Days & Exhibition Association. Of course, it wasn’t until things began to thaw that everything started to come to life. Once the cold prairie winter subsided, the group made the trek down to the coulee to cut some trees and begin work on building the corrals, chutes and arena.
The first Stampede was held on a weekend in June of the same year, and although the event was put together in just five months, it drew lots of excitement. “It’s the single-biggest event in town,” says Art Melin, the Stampede’s manager.
Over the first five years, the Stampede gained new fences, a ticket office, an administration building and bleachers. The Stampede started to gain more of a following, and the event facilities grew alongside it. By 1988, the founders’ dreams came true when a covered grandstand was built to seat over 3,500 spectators.
"It's the single biggest event in town."
And those dreams keep coming true, year after year. Today, the Stampede is a four-day event with daily pancake breakfasts and barbecues, a Farmer’s Market, an Agricultural Fair, a midway with over 15 different rides and games for visitors of all ages, a Stampede Parade, live entertainment, a rodeo dance and a cabaret.
A community filled with pride
The preparation for the Stampede isn’t just up to the event organizers — everyone in town lends a helping hand. “Typically, you would paint crosswalks at the start of the school year, not at the end, but they paint all the lines fresh. When we get all those visitors coming to town, we want our town to look the best it can,” says Art. “Everybody takes pride in where they live.”
Art has spent 32 years with the organization and has seen a lot of positive effects, both in his own life and the lives of other community members, from the Stampede. “The event brings a lot of people to town, and it has a nice spinoff effect on restaurants, hotels, service stations, grocery stores and tire shops.”
But the lifelong friendships he’s developed over the years stand out to him the most. He became best friends with a man he met 25 years ago while working at the Stampede, and although he now lives in Burlington, Ontario, Art says the two still talk three times a week.
A post-pandemic push for growth
The community was hit hard by the pandemic and was forced to cancel both the 2020 and 2021 Stampede events. The organizers were a bit wary of what to expect when the grounds opened again in 2022 with a post-pandemic world. “We were a little afraid as to what our crowd would be like and whether they would come back or find something else to entertain themselves,” says Art.
But like usual, the event went off without a hitch by keeping things business as usual. “We didn't make a bunch of changes or go out and spend a bunch of extra money trying something new,” says Art. “Sometimes just pulling it off year after year is exciting.”
Art has high hopes that this year’s 70th anniversary will bring some more new faces and volunteers to grow the Stampede even bigger. “My perspective is you can never be happy with where you're at. You always want to try and improve.”
And improving upon what’s already in place is what the Stampede and its organizers have been doing since the first event in 1954. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve bought a lot of land and acquired land beside us as we've been able to and could afford to,” says Art. “We've got the space, and now we just need the money to build [on it.]”
The future of the Wainwright Stampede is bright. And, like the event’s founders, the community is excited about what comes next and eager to discover just how bright the future can be.
1401 - 1st Ave, Wainwright, AB, T9W 1L1
