Record attendance at Falkland Stampede on Sunday, May 22. (Photo credit: Helen Bennett/Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster-Vernon Matters

Falkland Stampede

Huge crowds welcome return of Falkland Stampede

May 25, 2022 | 8:00 AM

FALKLAND, B.C. — The 102nd edition of the Falkland Stampede saw record crowds over the course of the long weekend.

The stampede made its return after almost three years off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Melissa Seaman, the Falkland Stampede Rodeo manager, told Vernon Matters they did not know what to expect when they opened the gates Saturday.

“We were just overwhelmed with everyone’s excitement to come out. I know the town was really excited to finally have the stampede again but to see fans from all over coming and just as excited as we were to have us back, it was just amazing,” said Seaman.

Over the three days, the stampede drew in over 13,000 visitors, which is a record turnout for the event.

“I think our 100th [Stampede] was our previous biggest turnout, and that was probably about 11,000, 10,000, I can’t say for sure, but this [year] was definitely busier than our 100th.”

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Seaman added that Sundays are always the busiest day of the weekend because of the parade. This year was no exception as the event saw over 6,000 fans turn out Sunday, which is also a record for single-day crowds.

Vehicles lined up on Highway 97 entering Falkland on Sunday, May 22. (Photo credit: Helen Bennett/Vernon Matters)

To prepare for the return of the event, Seaman said a lot more work had to be done on the grounds, and she thanked all the volunteers who came out and helped get the site ready.

As of time of publication, the final amount of money made at the stampede had not been calculated, but Seaman told Vernon Matters that plans are in the works for what to do with the funds.

“All the money raised goes back to our community association, which also supports a lot of the smaller non-profits in town,” said Seaman.

“We’re currently working on putting a roof on our skating rink in town, so hopefully we’ve raised enough money to finally finish that project and then we’ll be able to carry on with our next project in town.”

Seaman said while the event is being considered a success, she did acknowledge that there were some complaints about a lack of space, particularly on Sunday.

“We definitely were not expecting crowds that large on Sunday, but there’s always going to be a few complaints,” said Seaman.

“But I also heard a lot of raves on how polite the entire crowd was. Everyone was just happy to finally be out even though it was maybe a little bit crowded in the stands or people were shoulder to shoulder, people were courteous and just happy to be able to watch the rodeo.”

She also noted that there was some traffic concerns with so many people coming in and out of Falkland on the highway, and while she said they couldn’t close the roadway down, they will look into implementing some traffic control measures for the next event.

Packed crowd under sunny skies at Falkland Stampede May 22. (Photo credit: Helen Bennett/Vernon Matters)

Seaman said she hopes to keep up the momentum and make the 103rd Falkland Stampede bigger and better than this year’s event.