Calgary Stampede - Seriously Manly

The Stampede brings around a quarter of a million spectators to this likeable Canadian city every year. It’s not just about chaps in chaps either; this is the real thing – a succession of seriously manly events that kicks off on the first Friday with a traditional parade, featuring the several thousand participants and their horses. Thereafter, the focus of activity is Stampede Park, a vast open area that contains an amusement park, concert and show venues, bars, restaurants and all sorts of stalls. There’s a cracking World Blacksmith competition and nightly country-and-western performances, but everyone’s really here to see the rodeo events, including bronco- and bull-riding, branding, steer-wrestling and cow-tackling – fiercely competitive affairs that draw the bravest and most talented cowboys from every corner of the continent. Equally compelling are the enormously dangerous chuck-wagon races, held nightly, with the top four drivers going through to the final on the last night – a fitting and exciting conclusion to the festival.

Props: calgarystampede.com