04 July 2025 – The Philippine Consulate General in Calgary (PCG Calgary) proudly joined Calgarians in celebrating the 2025 Calgary Stampede, taking part in one of Canada’s most iconic festivals alongside vibrant Filipino community organizations.
Known as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” the Calgary Stampede is held annually every July and brings together more than a million visitors to the city of Calgary. The ten-day festival celebrates Western heritage, community spirit, and cultural diversity through a large outdoor fair and midway, rodeos, agriculture and trade exhibitions, concerts, free pancake breakfasts and community barbeques, and the much-anticipated Stampede Parade.
On 4 July 2025, PCG Calgary participated in the 114th Stampede Parade, marching alongside the spirited FIESTA FILIPINO contingent.. A regular participant in the Stampede Parade, Fiesta Filipino captivated the Stampede crowd with a uniquely Filipino float featuring a giant walking (rolling) Karaoke, complete with Filipino-Canadian singers who encouraged spectators to sing along to well-loved karaoke songs. It was a lively and interactive display that celebrated a cherished Filipino pastime while engaging the broader Canadian community in joyful connection. The float was further complemented with models from M2Z and Bathala International wearing traditional and modern Filipiniana, participants from the Council and Assembly of Filipino Foundations and Associations – Calgary, and the Cebu Sinulog Cultural Society dancing and twirling to the Sinulog beat. MP Rechie Valdez (Liberal, MP for Mississauga – Streetsville), Minister for Women and Gender Equality, donned her western-inspired Filipiniana and marched alongside the PCG Calgary contingent led by Deputy Consul General Victorio Dimagiba.
Canadian country superstar Shania Twain was this year’s Parade Marshal. Calgary Stampede officials said that around 340,000 people are estimated to have watched the parade, which attracted more than 100 entries.
On the other side of town, Consul General Emma Sarne took part in the 10th ALMUSAL: Traditional Filipino Stampede Breakfast hosted by Pacific Hut Restaurant and PIOCC SKS Sulong Kalayaan Society on 6 July 2025. She joined volunteers which included MP Blake Richards (Conservative, MP for Airdrie – Cochrane) in serving traditional Filipino breakfast fare – longganisa, fried rice, and egg (more known as the longsilog) – to members of the Calgary community.
In her remarks at the breakfast, Consul General Sarne reflected on how, just ten years ago, the idea of serving Filipino breakfast at a Stampede event was unheard of, but today, it has become a warmly welcomed part of the Calgary multicultural Stampede tradition. Her sentiments were echoed by MPs Valdez and Richards who both acknowledged the Filipino community’s growing role in enriching Alberta’s cultural and civic life.
The participation of various Filipino Community organizations in the 2025 Calgary Stampede reflects the growing integration of Filipinos into the social fabric of Alberta, and the shared values that unite Canadians and Filipinos: hospitality, community service, and a fun, celebratory spirit. Free pancake breakfasts and barbeques, a hallmark of Stampede festivities, embody Western generosity and togetherness; values that resonate deeply with Filipino cultural values of malasakit, pakikiisa, and also the tradition of bayanihan. END
