Yee-haw, it’s Stampede Week and Medicine Hat has plenty to celebrate

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on July 26, 2018.

The grounds are open and the stage is set for a fantastic Stampede Week in Medicine Hat.

The only off note appears to be a lack of scorching temperatures that typically broil the city at this particular week in July every year.

Yet, the more reasonable climate is welcome after a blazing start and middle of the month.

In opposite fashion, a pallor that has hung over our city for several years seems to have lifted.

The stage seems to be set for better times in Medicine Hat and southeast Alberta in general.

Since last the Stampede duds were dusted off the price of oil has returned.

An array of construction projects on the southside of Medicine Hat have broken ground. The City of Medicine Hat announced two coups in the pending arrival of Aurora Cannabis and Hut 8 data processing.

Combined with less fantastic business startups in hotels and retail, there could be 750 new jobs in 2019.

The total local workforce numbers about 33,000, so an proportionate job gain in a city the size of Calgary would be something like 21,000 new positions.

The two related power contracts provide some much needed wiggle room in the city budget and will likely take the acute pain out of city’s continuing budget troubles.

It should also be noted that 2018 marks two important milestones.

We are five years past damaging floods, after which many wondered how we could feel safe ever again.

We’re 10 years after the drop in natural gas prices that have never recovered, yet our town hasn’t closed up shop.

Medicine Hat isn’t a metropolis, and may never be, but it’s hardly a ghost town on the prairies.

In a community that prides itself on its sense of community, this is the week to show some spirit.

On Wednesday the midway opened, the annual parade is this morning, wristband day is Friday and, well, Saturday is a day off for most and an excuse to pile into the grounds. Night shows, rodeo, fireworks, prize draws, rides and midway fare are all there waiting to be enjoyed worry free.

Certainly, there’s lots to be worried about, everything from the pending collapse of global trade to the nitrate content in corndogs.

Such is life, and such things will need to be dealt with at a later date.

Anyone who’s tried to grow a garden, a family or a business in southeastern Alberta has seen their share of hard times before.

Let’s celebrate that fact as well as our good fortune and have a heckuva Stampede.