CALGARY, ALTA.—Calgary puts on its best face during Stampede, so it’s hard to choose where to start. Breakfast is a good place to start, with stops for gear, grub and art along the way to the big party at the end of the day.

Breakfast: The daily chuckwagon pancake breakfast runs all the way along Stephen Ave. to Fluor Rope Sq., with cowboy kitchens run by volunteers from the city’s banks and corporations who’ll down spatulas to join in the line and square dancing.

Lunch: There’s a lot to choose from on the midway, but the bannock taco at Stampede’s Indian Village is something you probably won’t find anywhere else — a filling plate of fried dough covered in meat, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

Dinner: Modern Steak is a new, high-end steak house in a city that runs on red meat. Carefully sourcing its beef from local producers, it also features luxury cuts such as Wagyu and its signature tomahawk, while also offering quinoa lasagna for the vegetarian guest.

Get cultured: The Western Oasis on the Stampede grounds is truly that — a quiet place to recharge with a glass of wine and a marketplace full of artists working with Western themes, from ranch life to landscapes, equestrian scenes to First Nations themes.

The hat: There’s no shortage of hats on sale at Stampede, but Lammle’s is a Calgary institution, with stores all over the city and pop-ups all over the fairgrounds, selling everything from boots to buckles to jeans and shirts, with walls full of hats from white to black and every colour in between.

The party: The beer is Bud and the country is new at Nashville North, the big tavern and music showroom by the Olympic entrance to the park. There’s music all over the park, but this is where the big kids go to let it all out when the sun sets over the prairie.

Rick McGinnis was hosted by the Calgary Stampede, which didn’t review or approve this story.

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