Calgary Stampede midway operators may quarantine in Strathmore
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
With plans moving forward for the Calgary Stampede to resume operations this summer, North American Midway Entertainment (NAME) is looking to quarantine its employees in Strathmore prior to the show.
Scooter Korek, vice president of client services for NAME, said he is currently negotiating the idea with the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society (SDAS) regarding what the quarantine would look like.
“We have yet to make an agreement with them, so that’s not 100 per cent firmed up,” he noted. “The Strathmore Agricultural Society is consulting with the Town of Strathmore and Alberta Services, so if a path becomes clear, there’s a chance that (we) could be coming into Strathmore.”
The rationale for choosing Strathmore, Korek explained, is the town’s proximity to the City of Calgary, its open fairgrounds — where NAME employees would ideally be stationed during the quarantine – and its availability of local services.
Korek added making use of such local businesses and services would benefit both the town, as well as the NAME team.
“It’s a great community with a lot of services that are really close in hand. If we’re going to be quarantining there, (we’ll) be using a lot of services within the town such as the drugstores and groceries and laundry,” said Korek. “We did that because of the proximity to Calgary and also the closeness of everything inside the town.”
Ryan Schmidt, general manager of SDAS, said while in negotiations with NAME, they are in talks with the Town of Strathmore, as well as taking feedback from residents about the idea.
“NAME needs to complete their approval processes with Alberta Health Services, and I believe some other agencies as well. If that came through positive, and we got good input from the Town of Strathmore, then we’d go ahead with establishing the secure site at our grounds,” he said.
Schmidt added the quarantine site —which is looking to be the chuckwagon village, would be provided with 24-hour security, with NAME employees not being permitted to leave the site until their quarantine is completed.
According to Pat Fule, mayor of Strathmore, there could be good benefits to the town and businesses to see the additional traffic coming through.
“There would be a lot of people there and they would be able to order food and have it delivered, so that part would be good for some our restaurants,” he said. “Some people are probably worried about the health impacts on the town, but I do know that the Strathmore Agricultural Society is looking at all health protocols (and) they’re going to work hard to ensure that everyone would be kept safe.”
NAME plans to bring a team of 250 employees, as well as 48 rides, into Alberta for the show. Korek said the entire operation is currently tentative but is optimistic about moving forward.
“It’s really hard for me to pin down what (it’s) going to look like because we’re dealing with the Calgary Stampede, and also they’re dealing with Alberta Health,” he said. “This is a moving target. It’s changing by the hour.”
A delegation from SDAS met with the Town of Strathmore during the regular council meeting on June 2 to make a presentation. The meeting is available for viewing on the town’s YouTube page.