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TENILLE TELLMAN
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A wet start to Stampede week didn’t
hold Hatters back from hitting the Medicine Hat Exhibition and
Stampede grounds Wednesday.
“Nothing’s changing around
here,” said Jim Tennant, corporate relations manager for the
Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede.
There was no rodeo scheduled for
Wednesday, and Tennant expects the field to be ready for today,
regardless of the weather. New sand was put in the field
Tuesday.
“The field is actually draining
pretty good, so we’ll see how it goes from there,” said
Tennant. “I think they’d try to go ahead as best as
they can.”
Free stage entertainment was also not
compromised and most should be able to perform as scheduled today,
says David Ziegenhagel, a Stampede director, chairman of the free
stage entertainment and chairman of guests and dignitaries.
“The one thing is, we’re not
going to get that 35 (degrees) above, which I think is going to be
nice,” he said of the weather Wednesday.
Eager Hatters hit the midway for the first
day. Friends Erin Swain and Chelsey Roberts went with the group for
the entire day and planned to stay until the fireworks that
night.
“I’m going to sit and watch
them from my roof,” said Roberts.
The girls said they probably would have
gone to the grounds even if the weather had stayed bad. They were
excited to see the free stage hypnotist, eat some of the midway
food and go on the rides.
“I’m coming back Saturday or
Friday,” said Swain.
Ziegenhagel expects the remainder of the
Stampede to go well.
“We’re pretty well ready,
we’ve all worked at this for quite a few years,” he
said, adding staff and volunteers always bring the event
together.
“I think it should be a real good
week.”
Only two events were cancelled
Wednesday.
The Medicine Hat Lodge Pancake Breakfast
was cancelled due to weather in the morning and the Apple Pie
Baking Contest was cancelled because only one pie was submitted for
judging. |
