Advertisement

Stampede surprise: Calgarian enjoys “stumping” his neighbours

Click to play video: 'A Calgary man’s cowboy creations bring the Stampede spirit to his street'
A Calgary man’s cowboy creations bring the Stampede spirit to his street
WATCH ABOVE: You don’t have to go very far in Calgary this week to see “signs of the Stampede”. And as Gil Tucker shows us, one man’s handiwork has his neighbours “stumped”…in a good way – Jul 11, 2016

Head down Wayne Palmer’s street in southwest Calgary and you’re in for a surprise this Stampede.

“Look at the cool cowboys!” Christina Edgar pointed out to her 8-year-old daughter Rhyannah. “Wayne’s cool decorations.”

His neighbours never know what they’ll see in what’s left of the old poplar tree in Palmer’s front yard.

He just finished carving cowboy faces on the stumps and outfitting them with hats for Stampede.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

This follows the ghost figures he created up in the tree last Halloween, followed by snowmen for Christmas, and then bunnies at Easter.

Palmer’s wife Denise said, “every season there’s something new. We never know what he’s coming up with”.

The fun in the tree started 40 years ago, when Palmer built a treehouse for his kids.

Story continues below advertisement

But after 2014’s huge September snowstorm that damaged thousands of trees throughout Calgary, most of the tree had to come down.

Now Palmer’s “stump surprises” help his neighbours get into the spirit of special occasions.

“He outdoes himself every season,” Kelly Shoults said. “I miss the old treehouse,” he told Palmer, “but it’s nice you kept something alive up there.”

Joseph Strembiski agreed the cowboys brighten up the street. “It definitely brings out a huge Stampede vibe.”

And Maral Bannayan summed up the feelings of many in the neighbourhood: “It shows pride of the Stampede. It shows pride of Calgary.”

Sponsored content

AdChoices