Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
by CK May is the month of flowers not just in the Philippines but also here in Calgary. A lot of my neighbors have done their spring cleaning and unfortunately I cannot cope up with them. I remember that during this time of the year my husband, Hank gets busier day by day. He takes care [...]
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The Greatest Outdoor Show of the Century

BY LAMBERT AFAN RELLOSA
This could have been a good tag line to promote TransAlta’s Grandstand Show, aptly named Century, to commemorate the Calgary Stampede’s 100th birthday. This year, everything was just a bit grander in size and in scope.
The stars were bigger too. Paul Brandt, who is only the most awarded male Canadian country music artist in history, headlined the production. It was in the 1992 Calgary Stampede Talent Search where Paul won and, in effect, launched his career. This time around, he was literally launched 68 feet above the audience while safely strumming his guitar and singing on a “flying” platform. There was also a tribute to Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, and Taylor Swift that surely appealed to a broad spectrum of country music lovers. And if that wasn’t your thing, there were plenty of other performances that kept the audience entertained. The colourful and well-choreographed circus acts of China’s Jinan Acrobatic Troupe was fun to watch. Our very own Young Canadians held the fast-paced show together like glue by providing seamless transitions between performances with their own song and dance numbers. I was just as impressed with the aerial silk performers reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil as I was with the stunt motocross bikers jumping across the stage. Dallas Arcand, who holds the title 2012 World Champion Hoop Dancer, performed his act atop a giant flying eagle made of metal hoops. And the list goes on…
As this was, after all, a birthday celebration, we needed something to make it truly memorable. Would a birthday cake, three storeys high, do the trick? It surely did, with the help of the entire cast – the singers, the dancers, and the acrobats – performing their last number onstage and in mid-air while fireworks spilled out of the Stampede grounds and into the four quadrants of the city for 6 out of the 10 nights, at least, that we celebrated. That could very well be the best grand finale, ever, of any show that I have seen.

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The Greatest Outdoor Show of the Century

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