Every year we celebrate fibre crafts by stitching in public during the Stampede in Calgary. Join us at the BMO centre on Monday and view all the great work submitted to the Western Showcase Art Show. On the last weekend of Stampede we have volunteers at the Heritage Cabin stitching on the porch and inside. Learn more about the Summer Kitchen from Stampede Volunteers and see what we are all working on.
Stitch in PUBLIC Events
Our Guild hosts a few different styles of "Stitch in Public" events during the year. The biggest one is Stampede where we volunteer and demonstrate in the BMO Art Show (formerly called the Western Oasis Art Show). In past years we also demonstrated in the Ag Zone Hawkwood Heritage Cabin near the Saddledome steps.
The Art Show is located the BMO building and has an area which showcases the art entered into the Creative Arts and Crafts Competition, which is displayed alongside professional artist booths. We, along with other local guilds and craft groups, volunteer to show off our skills to the public for a day.
The Hawkwood Heritage Cabin is located in the Agriculture area of the Stampede grounds; this building is a recreation of a "Summer Kitchen" on a ranch where food could be prepared away from the main house to keep it cooler. We, along with other guilds and local craft groups, volunteer to show off our work along with dressing the part. The cabin has bib aprons for volunteers to wear, or members have created their own costumes!
We also welcome any stitcher to our monthly Sit n' Stitch events in various libraries around Calgary. We may also organize a "Stitch in the Park" event depending on the weather.
Stampede Art Show - July 4th to 13th, 2025
Each year the Calgary Stampede hosts an Art Show that features artists from across Alberta. Along with the photography, painting and sculpture there is a Creative Arts & Crafts Competition.
The Calgary Stampede Art Show/Creative Arts and Crafts competition was borne out of the tradition of displaying creative works in a country fair. The display and judging of the arts and crafts engages the community with the Calgary Stampede and supports our western heritage, and has been showcasing the work of local crafters for more than 40 years. This exhibition preserves traditional art forms and advances new and modern forms of creativity including textiles, wood, ceramics, paper and sugar.
Our Guild volunteers will be demonstrating some of the embroidery techniques we stitch at these locations in 2025:
Art Show - BMO Gazebo
Monday, July 7th, 2025
11 am - 8 pm
Hawkwood Heritage Cabin
Saturday July 12th, 2025
11 am - 9 pm
Stampede Challenge - 2024
In 2024 we challenged our Guild members to participate in the Stampede Arts & Crafts competition and, as a thank-you to Freda Murfin, to stitch and enter one of Freda's canvaswork designs.
Below are some examples of art that was submitted to Stampede 2023
.jpg)
.jpg)
2023 - CALGARY STAMPEDE
So we forgot to take photos this year at Hawkwood Heritage Cabin!
CALGARY STAMPEDE
Every year we celebrate fibre crafts by stitching in public during the Stampede in Calgary. Join us at the BMO centre and view all the great work submitted to the Western Showcase Art Show. On the last weekend of Stampede we have also had volunteers at the Heritage Cabin stitching on the porch and inside. Learn more about the Summer Kitchen from Stampede Volunteers and see what each of us is working on.
