Red and white could be seen throughout the Stampede grounds on Thursday as Hatters celebrated Canada Day.--NEWS PHOTO KELLEN TANIGUCHI
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi
Thirty-eight-degree heat didn’t stop Hatters from gathering at the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede grounds Thursday as Alberta entered Stage 3 of its reopening plan, removing nearly all public health orders, to celebrate Canada Day.
Cars packed the Stampede parking lot as early as 8 a.m. when the pancake breakfast began. Every table was used for the majority of the breakfast and some Hatters were finding space in the shade to cool down and enjoy their meal.
Kara Brake, the Stampede’s general manager, says breakfast went over well and they even had a separate area set up for seniors.
“So, we had an area for seniors and an area for the general public and it was just able to give the seniors a space they felt a little more comfortable without being around thousands of people,” she said.
Barb Stoaz was one senior at breakfast who was happy to get out of her home and celebrate with family. Her grandson and great grandchildren drove in from Airdrie to be with her.
“I am so ready to be free. I live alone and when you’re alone and lonely, they should call loneliness a debilitating disease. It’s terrible when you’re a senior and alone,” said Stoaz. “It’s beautiful to get out.”
Alexandrea Patzer, Stoaz’s great grandchildren’s mother, says it’s exciting to celebrate Canada with their family and to not have to wear a mask. She adds it’s nice to see people’s smiles and faces around the grounds.
Family activities and food trucks took focus in the afternoon and many Hatters braved out the heat and stuck around. Brake says food trucks showed up early and they started activities ahead of schedule because people stayed at the grounds.
“It’s actually been kind of a little bit of an emotional day. I think we’ve all been waiting for this moment for a long time. Even our staff and volunteers, we’ve been waiting for this,” said Brake. “We’ve been excited to see people back on our grounds, it’s been a long time with no people here and it’s been a bit of an emotional day, but it’s exciting to see though.”
Hatters lined up for Swirls Ice Cream and Kona Ice at the grounds to help cool off.
Family activities included races on inflatable horses, basketball hoops and face painting, among others. Skylar Bajnok, 7, lined up to have a giraffe face painted on her and her mother, Kathryn Petracek, says it’s exciting to be around people again.
Due to the heat, Brake said the Stampede spent the day in contact with the Medicine Hat Fire Department and they constantly watered grounds where fireworks were scheduled to launch. As of press time, Brake was hopeful they’d get the green light for the annual fireworks display.
