Photo courtesy of Shuswap Tourism / Facebook

By Liam Verster

15,000 Attendees

Cloudy, cool days didn’t keep people away from 104th Falkland Stampede

May 23, 2024 | 5:00 AM

The potential for rain and thunderstorms did not stop the crowds from flocking to Falkland for the 104th annual Stampede.

“We had a really successful stampede this year. Even with the not so great weather forecast, people still came out all weekend and I think our numbers overall for the three days might have set a new record,” Melissa Seaman, manager of the Falkland Stampede, told Vernon Matters.

“Sunday was still our busiest day because everyone comes out for the parade, which was great, but I think Saturday and Monday were almost as busy as Sunday, and there were almost 15,000 people total over the weekend.”

Seaman said she didn’t expect such large crowds due to the weather forecast, but having what she believes is a record turnout shows the event is a big draw for people.

She said there were some learning experiences this year, particularly with amenities and with the dance, which was moved to Falkland’s new skating rink to accomodate more patrons.

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“We definitely need more bathrooms, we can always use more bathrooms it doesn’t seem to matter how many we get, there’s still a line-up, so we’re always increasing that,” Seaman said

“Then increasing our security for our dance so that we can accomodate a larger crowd as well.”

In terms of the rodeo events, Seaman said the crowds were great, cheering on every event and every rider.

The 104th edition of the stampede included a new sheep riding, or ‘mutton busting’ event, that was also well received.

“That was for kids aged five to seven, and the crowd just loved it,” the manager told Vernon Matters.

“Seeing the little kids get out there and trying to ride their sheep across the arena was so entertaining, so we’ll definitely be having that again next year.”

In January, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District approved providing over $455,000 to upgrade the Stampede grounds, and nearly all the planned work was completed ahead of the annual rodeo.

“We had a great group of volunteers and great contractors that worked really hard to get the upgrades completed before the stampede,” Seaman explained.

“We had a brand new roof over one of our grandstands, there’s a new fence along the highway that looks really great with our new sponsors signs.”

The only work not completed on time was the renovations to the concession booth, but Seaman said they had it closed and left serving food up to the food trucks over the long weekend, adding the new community concession should be ready for next year.

Looking ahead to 2025, Seaman said they hope to have an even bigger event.

“As the stampede was ending I was realizing that next year will be our 105th, and I just feel like every five years it’s a bit of an iconic year, so hopefully next year we can plan something really big to celebrate our 105th,” Seaman told Vernon Matters.

“I am hoping that we’ll be able to save up enough money in the next little while to build another grandstand. Since we just keep getting bigger and bigger every year it would be nice to have another grandstand to sit in. So that’s my goal for [2025].”