With all the development in Alberta, hearing that a local community group has to find a new venue is a familiar refrain. However, for once the change is for the best. On November 15th, the Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA) announced that they are moving the Canadian Rockies International Rodeo from Symons Valley Ranch to the Strathmore Agricultural Grounds in Strathmore just east of Calgary. While the dates for the rodeo have not changed, (June 26-28, 2009), attendees can expect a lot more at the new venue.
The venue change was inevitable. As anyone who has seen the Calgary city limits grow closer and closer to Symons Valley Ranch with each passing year, there was a fear that the ranch could disappear; gobbled up by suburbia.
Judy Munson, ARGRA’s Communications Director, said this was one factor. “Every year we’d go up there and the subdivisions would be closer to Symons Valley. There was always that concern that at some point in time, we’re going to have to move. We thought rather than wait until the property is sold, we would start looking for a place – something we really wanted to move up to.”
Room to grow for another 15 years was another reason for change. At the rate the Canadian Rockies International Rodeo (CRIR) has grown, Symons Valley was becoming too small. “We found some of our events were a little crowded, even our overflow area for camping had become pretty tight over the last few years. The parking for the dance Saturday night was getting crowded, and we want our attendees to feel comfortable.”
In comparison, the Strathmore Agricultural Grounds is a much larger rodeo facility. There are acres of camping space available right beside a first-class professional rodeo arena with one of the most modern rodeo facilities in the Calgary area. This impressed Munson: “the grandstand is covered, it’s beautiful, there are some seats around the arena similar to in-field seats” (like at the Stampede). There’s lots of parking available, and expanded facilities for rodeo contestants and attendees alike.
A bigger venue will not mean that attendees and contestants will pay a bigger price. “We’re not going to raise anything,” Munson said. The rodeo package and contestant prices will stay the same. In fact, some costs will decrease. The new venue has more buildings available for use, thus eliminating the costs for large tents. The camping costs will drop to a $40 flat fee for the entire week – Wednesday to Wednesday.
The new venue does have some differences. While there are acres and acres of camping sites available, the serviced sites are limited, and will be reserved for IGRA Officials, ARGRA Executive, and ARGRA Rodeo Committee members. Some people who have waited over the years to get a serviced site may be a bit disappointed, but the step up in venue should make up for it. Munson says they also plan to make the camping site fun and direction-friendly with quadrants, named roads and lanes. The idea is that unlike previous years where you wandered around looking for someone, you can tell them “Well, I’m the fourth one up on Brokeback Lane”.
The new venue will require work to be done by ARGRA officials and volunteers that was handled by venue staff in the past. Munson listed some examples: “…the camping; we’re actually booking the camping. We’ll have to bring in a caterer which may or may not be more expensive. We’ve had people in the past approach us about selling food in the retail area (e.g. popcorn, mini donuts). We couldn’t do that because Symons valley had control on the concessions. But now it’s on us to bring in vendors for concession. There will be more variety this year. It’s a little bit of logistics. We’ve evaluated it to the best of our abilities and thus far I don’t think we’ll have a whole bunch of extra costs. We’re hoping to keep within our budget.”
Speaking of budget, for people relying on busses from the city, Munson mentioned “we’re looking at that, we’re certainly looking at making that available.” Even though the venue is a bit further out of Calgary, Judy thinks people will be surprised at the speed and ease of accessibility. Strathmore is straight east of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway, while Symons Valley was accessed by a smaller road that had been plagued by construction delays over the past few years.
Munson confirmed what is stated on the ARGRA website, that attendees will still experience the best rodeo on the International Gay Rodeo Association circuit, and all the favorite events. Yet for this first year at the new venue, don’t expect any major new events. “This year we’re going to stay close to the format we’ve had in the past because it is a new venue. You can plan and plan, but things are going to come up that we weren’t prepared for or hadn’t thought of. The next year we’ll evaluate changes and some growth. This year will be a learning curve. We’re going to keep things similar and go from there. We do have some little ideas that may be a bit different, but basically the format will stay pretty much the same.” On a later call, Munson did mention they are considering adding entertainment on the Sunday night, and possible audience participation events; but one thing was guaranteed: “the focus is on fun this year!”
ARGRA is thrilled with this move, and the reception that the new venue has given them. “Strathmore Agricultural Society really wants to work with us; we’re kind of their first event where they’re going to be leasing out the property to us. They’re very helpful and our meetings with them have been amazing. They want us to be successful,” Judy said. She anticipates people will have their socks blown off. “People will be amazed because we have two warm-up arenas, we’ve got an official arena size. Spectators will enjoy it more, they will see more action.”
With the move to the Strathmore Agricultural Grounds, ARGRA does encourage people to visit their website for information and updates. While CRIR ticket packages aren’t quite ready, campers can reserve their sites through the ARGRA website. In fact, Judy wanted to stress to campers even with the size of the camping space available, advance booking is appreciated to help give ARGRA the proper numbers to plan the event.
Finally, given that this is going to be a new venue, any extra volunteers able to give their time would be appreciated to make 2009’s Canadian Rockies International Rodeo the best yet!
Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association
www.argra.org
