Heat warning not keeping people away from first weekend of Stampede

Downtown Calgary's Stampede Park is packed with Stetson-wearing festival goers this weekend, in spite of an Environment Canada heat warning. 

More than 161,000 people jammed into the grounds for the Stampede's opening day – just short of 2023's best-ever opening day attendance of 164,939.

Stampede CEO Joel Cowley said about 340,000 people showed up over the first two days, putting the festival about two thousand admissions behind last year's record-setting pace. 

"Our concerts are toward the end of this year's Stampede," said Cowley. "So we couldn't be more pleased with the turnout and the support, and the enthusiasm."

The strong attendance numbers come with the city of Calgary under an Environment Canada heat warning.

Daytime highs of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius are expected until at least midweek, according to the warning. 

Environment Canada is asking Calgarians to take precautions like drinking plenty of water and moving outdoor activities to cooler hours of the day.

"With the longer days at this point in the summer, we're getting a lot of daytime heating, and not too much overnight cooling," said Rob Griffith, lead meteorologist at Environment Canada.

"That's leading to… a building in temperatures as we go forward."

Calgary residents and visitors are encouraged to monitor children, seniors and people with health conditions for signs of heat stroke. 

Cowley said everyone who visits Stampede Park should take proper precautions, adding that there are water stations throughout the grounds.

"We're so blessed to have the BMO expansion because that's additional indoor air-conditioned space that will host a lot more people," he said. 

"If people are feeling any signs of heat stress, they should go inside and cool off."

A $500-million, 565,000-square-foot expansion of the BMO Centre at Stampede Park wrapped up last month.