Objective
To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, our client wanted to engage their 900 President’s Club winners with a genuine experience unique to Western Canada.
Challenges
- Event date fell over the same week as the world-famous Calgary Stampede.
- Maximum capacity at Boundary Ranch grandstand was 300; our group was 900.
- The venue is a working ranch and family home in an environmentally sensitive area.
- Immerse guests in the “wild west” from the moment they arrived at the venue.
Strategy
Taking a page from the Calgary Stampede, “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, we showcased Western Canada’s traditional cowboy culture in a private stampede rodeo and cookout at an authentic working cattle ranch.
Strategy continued…
- Entrance was flanked with teepees featuring traditional arts and crafts by local artisans.
- We designed three distinct western themed zones: saloon area for welcome cocktails, indoor and outdoor dining options for the BBQ, and grandstand for the rodeo.
- Prospector tents with custom-made, false-front and old-west signage created the backdrop for interactive guest experiences and the main stage for the band.
- Two saloon bars built in old-west style and colourful food trucks were corralled, offering grab and go snacks to enjoy during the rodeo festivities.
- A large dining tent with wild west themed decor to enjoy BBQ delights.
- Pick-up trucks laden with ice, and stocked with cold beverages complimented vendors working the stands “hawking” carnival treats.
- We custom built an engineered grandstand to accommodate an additional 500 guests.
Award Winning Results
Not only was the ranching family gifted an expanded grandstand, 900 guests were treated to their own version of “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”. Guests embraced their inner cowboy celebrating all things rodeo, including the thrill-a-minute exploits of real-life rodeo trick riders, a Western style hoe-down, a gourmet BBQ dinner, welcome fiddlers, a country-and-western band, and hundreds of Instagram-worthy moments.
