In Greek mythology, a hero was a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity. I encountered a lot of these beings last week, especially yesterday.

We needed 14 tickets for the Grandstand at the Stampede last night. The problem was, as I discovered while standing in line talking with the man in front of me, each person was only allowed to purchase 8. I stood in line for an hour, chatting with the couple in front of me — the people behind had someone in another line and it obviously moved faster than ours because they left. When I mentioned I was stymied about the 8 limit, the couple in front offered to buy the extra ones for me. Bonus!  I stood in line for an hour chatting with a delightful couple and, I got all the tickets I needed.

Sean and Elise, you are heroes!

The show was spectacular. And I mean, SPECTACULAR! After years of my eldest being in the show as a Young Canadian, I can be somewhat critical of the extravaganza that is the Grandstand Show. I also wrote and produced the documentary of The Young Canadians for Global National TV six years ago — I’ve seen the inner workings and gyrations of it all. From acrobats spinning in hoops above the heads of the audience, to Paul Brandt singing his heart out from a disc that hung suspended above the audience as he floated out over the heads of the audience gathered on the tarmac, to world champion hoop dancer Dallas Arcand who road in on a giant, metal sculpture of an eagle that came floating in from the sky, the show was Spectacular. And The Young Canadians shone!

Paul Brandt, Dallas Arcand, The Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede, and all the other performers, you are all heroes.

Bill Avery has executive produced the Grandstand Show for over fifteen years. He inherited the role from his father who was one of the founders of The Young Canadians. Bill’s enthusiasm for his work, his care of the kids who range in age from 8 to 21, his vision and his creative senses are stellar.

Bill Avery,  and all the production team of the Grandstand Show along with all the volunteers like Kate Thrasher, Stu Reid, Jock Osler — you are heroes!

I was a Young Canadian parent for several years. It takes a lot — driving to and from dance and singing classes, rehearsals, sellling programs during the show, doing this, doing that, to ensure your child turns up when needed, has the right stuff to do what it takes to go through the nine months of being a student in the Young Canadians school of performing arts and then, the gruelling five months leading up to the Grandstand Show. It takes and lot and the parents of these youth give a lot.

All the parents and volunteers and helper outters and sitter-byers and supporters and lifter-uppers of the Young Canadian School of Performing Arts, you are heroes.

When Liseanne, my youngest daughter, went out to collect her boyfriend Ryan and a girlfriend, Ashley who were joining us for the evening but couldn’t arrive until later, a couple approached Ryan and Ashley and gave them their tickets to get onto the grounds. “We don’t need them,” they said and handed them the entrance tickets. When I stood outside the grandstand waiting for some friends to arrive so that I could give them their tickets, a woman approached me and asked if I wanted to buy her extra ticket. I didn’t really need it — though we could only purchase standing room only tickets as everything else was sold out. I pondered the opportunity for a moment as she told me the story of her friend who had cancelled at the last minute and now she had one empty seat beside her. What the heck, I decided. It was a good seat and if any of us got tired of standing, we could share it. I paid her (she didn’t want the full amount, just half) and kept waiting. As I waited, another woman approached me and asked if I had a ticket for sale. We’re four people and only have three, she said. I pondered some more and said, “What the heck!”. I obviously bought it so that she and her friends could all have tickets. I sold her the ticket for what I’d paid.

People who give away their tickets, who sell tickets for less than the printed cost, who act ethically and with integrity in ensuring they pass along their largess are heroes!

It was a fun, awe-inspiring, breathtaking spectacle last night. All the horses made it around the track during the Chuckwagon races. Cowboys oozed their manly stuff, cowchicks flit around the grounds and smiles lit the faces of young and old.

And then, the TransAlta fireworks display lit up the night as Paul Brandt sang and The Young Canadians danced and I stood, one of  22,000 people there to witness the spectacular, my heart pounding with pride. I am Canadian. I am a Calgarian. Yahoo!

It was a night like no other at the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!