Two Ontario youth bands help kick-off the Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede began this weekend, and The Salvation Army’s divisional youth bands from Ontario, Impact Brass and Solidarity Brass, helped kick-off the 10-day event.

Sixty band members, leaders and chaperones were formally invited to march in the Stampede parade by Calgary’s very own Glenmore Temple Band. Each year, the band invites other musical groups to share in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of playing during the parade.

“It’s a great musical experience,” The Salvation Army’s Assistant Territorial Music and Arts Secretary Marcus Venables said.

Band members experienced many firsts on their Alberta trip

Over four days, the bands performed around Calgary, at the Didsbury Bandstand, at Heritage Park, Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre for their pancake breakfast and, of course, the Stampede Parade; they then headed to Banff for a one-time performance at the Central Park Gazebo.

Impact Brass and Solidarity Brass members stayed with billets during their time here in Alberta. Their ages ranged from 14 to 25 years old, and this trip was a first of its kind for many of them.

The trip’s highlight was the Saturday night concert at The Salvation Army’s Glenmore Temple. It was their last performance before heading home.

“We finished the Stampede and parade, and it was all behind them, and they could just praise and worship together at the corps,” Venables said of the Saturday performance’s significance to the band members.

The Salvation Army’s pancake breakfast

The Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope in Calgary kicked off the Stampede festivities by hosting a pancake breakfast for 500 people at the Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre on Thursday, July 6.

The event included community members, donors, politicians, youth band members and women from the shelter on the property who all enjoyed a free breakfast. In addition to the good food, the guests enjoyed bouncy castles, musical performances from the youth bands, a spiritual care table, and a sense of community.

“Everybody was all mixed in, and you saw one big group of people where you couldn’t distinguish who was who but were there having breakfast together,” Executive Director at The Salvation Army Community Services in Calgary, Cliff Wiebe said.

MP Greg McLean and MLA Janet Eremenko joined the staff to help flip pancakes at the event this year. It was a chance for people from all walks of life to engage and connect with their community.

“A special thank you to the band. I think that was the highlight – having the youth from Ontario here this year… we’re so grateful they came out to Calgary to share their music and their energy with us for the Stampede,” Wiebe said.

Next year, two community pancake breakfasts will be held during the Stampede. The current Barbara Mitchell Centre will continue, and a new location will expand to Forest Lawn on the city’s east end. The new facility will be home to the Family Services team and host their first pancake breakfast. The event will aim to serve more than double in that community.

“We’re here to serve the community and to strengthen our community,” Wiebe said.