How would you like to curl up on a mat and read with some children for a day? That is exactly what Katie, Kirstie and I did yesterday. January 27th is Family Literacy Day and to celebrate this occasion we joined the Calgary Reads program and some special guests at Woodland Elementary School. The guests included the Minister of Education Dave Hancock, MLA Dave Rodney, and one of our favorite people, the hilarious Dave Kelly. Besides the “Daves,” there were also many parents and volunteers who had come to celebrate the importance of reading.

The guests of honor for the afternoon were some of the grade 1 and 2 students from the school. I was with two grade 2 students who shared their books with me and impressed me with their reading skills. “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “The Paper Bag Princess,”  were the two books that I chose to read to my special listeners. Promoting literacy in the community is very important especially for young children. I felt honored to be able to be part of such an amazing program. I hope that we will participate in one of these events again.

What are your favorite stories?? I’m going to dive into one of my favorites again today…

Yours Truly,

The Paper Bag Princess

What a crazy week! Janelle, Kirstie and I have been very busy with a multitude of events. Recently we have attended an open house for Tourism Calgary, western night at a Calgary Hitmen game (where we spent some time with chuckwagon driver Mark Sutherland – what a guy!), an AAA All-Star hockey game, and the ‘STARS and Spurs’ gala. While we certainly have fun everywhere we go, we were all particularly excited to attend the STARS gala. STARS is an organization that holds a very special meaning for us all. In 2008 our own Princess Janelle was the victim of a serious car accident, and was airlifted by a STARS air ambulance. We are so grateful to have our lovely princess here with us today! 

This week is shaping up to be just as busy and fun-filled as last week, with events almost every day! We are looking forward to attending a fundrasier for Haiti at Flames Central on Thursday. Come out and join us!

Katie

By: Reginald Tiangha

Motley Crue and the 40th annual RV Expo & Sale are two of the things highlighting the next seven days at Stampede Park. Shall we find out what else is going on this week?

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What an incredible feeling!

Monday Jan. 18th Katie, Kirstie and I headed out onto 9th Ave and 11th street to get our first taste 0f the 2010 Olympic spirit. We stood on the side of route 148 where Stampede’s President and Chairman of the Board, David Chalack ran with the torch. The atmosphere on the street was incredible. We were joined by many members of the Stampede family, including Harry the Horse. Our friends from the Grey Cup Committee were also there to cheer on the flame.

Seeing the torch was very emotional. The Olympics represent a time where the countries of our world come together to celebrate. Olympic Plaza was a sea of smiling, red and white. The sense of pride that filled the streets was amazing. After experiencing the feeling first hand, I understand why the 2010 Olympic motto is, “with glowing hearts.”

Go Canada, Go!

By: Killa Burkinshaw and Reginald Tiangha

Another Monday, another chance to check out What’s Happening on Park in the next seven days! But before we get started with the usual, we have a very important announcement to pass on to all of you loyal Stampede Blog readers first:

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The Olympics are a month away and we are all gearing up for the excitment. Tomorrow the torch finally makes its way to our city!! Stampede’s CEO Vern Kimball, and Chairman of the board Dr. David Chalack will have the hounor to join the many who have gotten to run with the torch. We would like to invite you all come on down to Olympic Plaza tomorrow night and join in the olympic celebration as the torch will make  its way there at approximatly 7pm. Katie, Janelle and I are excited to participate in the fun and hope to see you all there!

Dream Big,

Kirstie

By: Reginald Tiangha

While I’m a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to find one of these at last weekend’s Motorcycle Show, I do have to say that the variety that was on hand was most impressive. But enough about last week, let’s see what’s on tap for this week!

HOMEXPO and Guns N’ Roses highlight the week ahead at Stampede Park, and are just some of the things that are happening here in the next seven days.

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Happy New Everyone, the three months of our 2009 reign has come to an end and we say hello to all the excitement of 2010.

Looking back on the month leading up to Christmas I am still excited about the trip we made out to my home town of Cluny. The Country Farm house is our small community tea house where a ladies night was held for a Christmas get together. The community asked if the trio would come out and share our stories about our journeys to the crown. It was nice to come home and see the community in my new spotlight and thank them all for the support and encouragement they have given me along the way. Katie and Janelle were so excited to come home with me and meet the small town community I’m so proud to be a part of.

So now we are all well rested after our Christmas breaks and ready to get back in the saddle. So many things to look forward to in the New Year, February marks an exciting month in Canada and for the stampede. We are excited to be traveling to our west neighbors while representing our city and the stampede at the 2010 winter Olympics. 2010 also marks the year of our stampede, only seven months away now and we are already gearing up for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

 Until Next time, dream big & live proud,

Kirstie

Happy New Year everyone! It’s hard to believe that three months have passed in our reign already! Janelle, Kirstie, and I are so excited to see what 2010 has in store for us. If it’s anything like the three months we had in 2009 we’re in for some real excitement!

One of my personal highlights from 2009 was undoubtedly our experience at the Grey Cup. We were fortunate to get to work closely with the Calgary Grey Cup Committee, a fantastic group of volunteers that dedicate their time towards representing Calgary annually at the Grey Cup. During that week we participated in numerous pancake breakfasts, travelled around to various parties, and met some truly wonderful people!

We are so fortunate to be able to represent the Stampede and Calgary as a whole. The experiences that we have had so far have been absolutely amazing! And speaking of amazing experiences… we recently received news that the three of us will be attending the Olympics in February. How lucky are we??!!

Until next time!

Katie

By: Killa Burkinshaw

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope all of you had a great holiday and had a bit of R&R over the holidays. I sure did, and now I’m ready to get back to everything! Did anyone catch any of the great hockey action over the holidays? I caught the Flames/Oilers game on New Year’s eve; what an excellent Battle of Alberta!

The Calgary Motorcycle Show and the Roughnecks’ home opener highlight some of the events happening on Park in the next seven days, so let’s take a closer look at What’s Happening this week!

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