Two independent vendors at the Calgary Stampede were selling Confederate flag merchandise Sunday afternoon, despite being told by the park to remove it on numerous occasions.

Kurt Kadatz, spokesperson with the Stampede, said vendors were told Thursday not to sell the confederate flag or items displaying it.

However, the Calgary Sun found at about noon and again after 2 p.m., one vendor called My Favourite Belts and Buckles, was still selling buckles with the flag on it, while another (name not displayed on booth) was selling a mini guitar with the confederate pattern and a description beside it that read, “Inspired by Zakk Wylde,” an American musician.

Both vendors refused to comment as to why they were still displaying the merchandise.

“We spoke to them at 2 this afternoon, we spoke to owners of three booths that we had noticed Confederate flag items for sale,” said Kadatz Sunday at about 6 p.m.

“Our understanding was that they seemed all amicable to taking them off the shelf.”

As a result of the Sun’s inquiry into the matter Sunday, Kadatz said he had told the Midway manager to speak with the vendors.

“We noticed this on Thursday with some vendors and took immediate action — a lot of folk have different staff ... so I’m not sure if that’s part of the problem,” he said.

“We’re taking it seriously, we’re being persistent.”

Kadatz said that the Stampede’s values are in line with the community’s, and while the marketplace is essentially a mall with private vendors, the park has instructed all of them to “not sell this merchandise.”

The Confederate flag has recently been the source of controversy south of the border following the June 17, shooting and subsequent death of nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.

The white gunman, Dylann Roof, has been seen in images posing with the flag, which has pro-slavery roots dating back to the American civil war.

laura.booth@sunmedia.ca

On Twitter: @SUNLauraBooth