The Calgary Stampede is officially underway after the Stampede Parade kicked off this year’s 10 days of festivities Friday morning.
The parade made its way through downtown, starting at Third Street Southeast, going west along Ninth Avenue, turning onto Tenth Street Southwest before heading back east along Sixth Avenue and concluding at Fourth Street Southeast.
According to Calgary Stampede Parade Committee officials, an estimated 305,000 people lined the route to take in the parade.
The Glory to Ukraine entry was selected as the winner of the fan favourite award while celebrity judge Ashley Callingbull selected the Calgary Korean Association float as her favourite.
Admission to Stampede Park was free following the parade until 1:30 p.m.
This year’s parade featured nearly 100 groups of community organizations, corporations, Indigenous representatives and VIPs, all led by parade marshal Jeremy Hansen, who swapped out his spacesuit for western wear.
A Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Hansen will be the first Canadian to go to the moon, He will be part of the Artemis II mission – the first crewed mission to the moon since 1972.
Honorary marshal Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of the defence staff, was just one of the many members of the Canadian Armed Forces who participated in the parade.