The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo and festival held every July in Calgary, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, stage shows, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing, First Nations exhibitions. In 2008, the Calgary Stampede was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame; the event's roots are traced to 1886 when the Calgary and District Agricultural Society held its first fair. In 1912, American promoter Guy Weadick organized his first rodeo and festival, known as the Stampede, he returned to Calgary in 1919 to organize the Victory Stampede in honour of soldiers returning from World War I. Weadick's festival became an annual event in 1923 when it merged with the Calgary Industrial Exhibition to create the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. Organized by thousands of volunteers and supported by civic leaders, the Calgary Stampede has grown into one of the world's richest rodeos, one of Canada's largest festivals, a significant tourist attraction for the city.
Rodeo and chuckwagon racing events are televised across Canada. However, both have been the target of increasing international criticism by animal welfare groups and politicians concerned about particular events as well as animal rights organizations seeking to ban rodeo in general. Calgary's national and international identity is tied to the event, it is known as the "Stampede City", carries the informal nickname of "Cowtown", the local Canadian Football League team is called the Stampeders. The city takes on a party atmosphere during Stampede: office buildings and storefronts are painted in cowboy themes, residents don western wear, events held across the city include hundreds of pancake breakfasts and barbecues; the Calgary and District Agricultural Society was formed in 1884 to promote the town and encourage farmers and ranchers from eastern Canada to move west. The society held its first fair two years attracting a quarter of the town's 2,000 residents. By 1889, it had acquired land on the banks of the Elbow River to host the exhibitions, but crop failures, poor weather, a declining economy resulted in the society ceasing operations in 1895.
The land passed to future Prime Minister R. B. Bennett who sold it to the city; the area was called Victoria Park, after Queen Victoria, the newly formed Western Pacific Exhibition Company hosted its first agricultural and industrial fair in 1899. The exhibition grew annually, in 1908 the Government of Canada announced that Calgary would host the federally funded Dominion Exhibition that year. Seeking to take advantage of the opportunity to promote itself, the city spent C$145,000 to build six new pavilions and a racetrack, it held a lavish parade as well as rodeo, horse racing, trick roping competitions as part of the event. The exhibition was a success, drawing 100,000 people to the fairgrounds over seven days despite an economic recession that afflicted the city of 25,000. Guy Weadick, an American trick roper who participated in the Dominion Exhibition as part of the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Real Wild West Show, returned to Calgary in 1912 in the hopes of establishing an event that more represented the "wild west" than the shows he was a part of.
He failed to sell civic leaders and the Calgary Industrial Exhibition on his plans, but with the assistance of local livestock agent H. C. McMullen, Weadick convinced businessmen Pat Burns, George Lane, A. J. McLean, A. E. Cross to put up $100,000 to guarantee funding for the event; the Big Four, as they came to be known, viewed the project as a final celebration of their life as cattlemen. The city built a rodeo arena on the fairgrounds and over 100,000 people attended the six-day event in September 1912 to watch hundreds of cowboys from Western Canada, the United States, Mexico compete for $20,000 in prizes; the event was hailed as a success. Weadick set about planning the 1913 Stampede. However, the Big Four were not interested in hosting another such event. Businessmen in Winnipeg convinced Weadick to host his second Stampede in their city, but the show failed financially. A third attempt held in New York State in 1916 suffered the same fate. Weadick returned to Calgary in 1919 where he gained the support of E. L. Richardson, the general manager of the Calgary Industrial Exhibition.
The two convinced numerous Calgarians, including the Big Four, to back the "Great Victory Stampede" in celebration of Canada's soldiers returning from World War I. While the 1919 Stampede was successful, it was again held as a one-time event. Richardson was convinced that it could be a profitable annual event but found little support for the concept within the board of directors of the Calgary Industrial Exhibition. However, declining attendance and mounting financial losses forced the exhibition board to reconsider Richardson's proposals at their 1922 annual meeting. Richardson proposed merging the two events on a trial basis. Weadick agreed, the union created the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede; the combined event was first held in 1923. Weadick encouraged the city's residents to dress in western clothes and decorate their businesses in the spirit of the "wild west". Civic leaders supported the event for the first time: Mayor George Webster followed the costume suggestion and allowed downtown roads to be closed for two hours each morning of the six-day event to accommodate street parties.
The new sport of chuckwagon racing was introduced and proved popular. 138,950 people attended and the event earned a profit. Over 167,000 people attended in 1924 and the success guaranteed that the Stamp
Sir James Charles Harris, KCVO, was British Consul at Nice from 1884 until 1901. Born in Genoa, Republic of Genoa in 1831, he was appointed Vice-Consul at Nice in 1881 and promoted to Consul in 1884. From 1888, he was the Consul for the Principality of Monaco. Sir James was the British Commissioner to the Nice Exhibition of 1884, he was awarded the Jubilee Medal in 1899 and the Coronation Medal in 1902. He was a member of the St James's Club, his knighthood, the seventh awarded in the Royal Victorian Order, was provisionally bestowed by Queen Victoria at Nice in 1896. He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1899 and promoted to a Knight Commander of the order in 1902. Sir James was an accomplished water-colour painter, having studied with Rowbotham at the Royal Naval School in London and with Alexis Mossa in Nice, he was an honorary member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, a founding member and Secretary of the Société des Beaux-Arts de Nice. He was married to German baroness Gerhardine von Gall.
They had three sons. His eldest daughter Anna Lydia married Arthur von Eppinghoven, the youngest illegitimate child of Leopold I of Belgium. Sir James died at Nice on 8 November 1904. JC Harris paintings at Nice Historique "A look at James Charles Harris, British Consul and humanitarian", The Riviera Reporter, 2013 Royal Service, volume I
The Dvora-class fast patrol boat is a fast class of patrol boats built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Sea Corps based on the Israeli Dabur class. The Dvora class has become the work horse of the Sri Lanka Navy which has deployed it since the mid-1980s to counter LTTE operations at sea. Since Dvoras have been made in Sri Lanka and has been the basis for the more advanced Colombo class fast patrol boat built by the Colombo Dockyard Limited and used by South Asian navies to counter terrorism; the Republic of China Navy uses Dvoras as Fast Attack Missile Craft, purchasing two and using them as a pattern for the almost-identical, locally-built Hai Ou-class missile boats, 50 built. Both classes, being an anti-ship asset, are armed with additional two Hsiung Feng I anti-ship missiles and have been in ROCN service for over 20 years. IsraelIsraeli Sea Corps - 9 Sri LankaSri Lanka Navy - 4. Unofficial reports quote more than 2 were sunk by the LTTE. Republic of ChinaRepublic of China Navy - 2 original Dvora acquired in the 1970s and 48 local variant version Hai Ou-class, retired beginning in 1999 to 2012.
GambiaFour units received from Taiwan in 2009 as patrol gunboats. All 4 were slated for Republic of Malawi in 2008. ParaguayTwo units received from Taiwan in 1994 as patrol gunboats. Www.israeli-weapons.com Hai Ou-class Fast Attack Missile Craft, globalsecurity.org
Craig G. Roberts was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer, he began his career in 1965 and became one of the leading trainers in the Pacific Northwest, competing at Longacres Racetrack and Emerald Downs in the state of Washington. He is best known as the trainer of Slew of Damascus for David & Jill Heerensperger, he had the biggest win of his career in 1994 when the son of U. S. Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew won the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup. In 1975, Roberts was voted the Martin Durkan Award, presented annually to a horseman for leadership, cooperation and excellence on and off the track. Craig Roberts suffered two strokes in the winter of 2008. In failing health, he was living in Seattle, when he died from pneumonia on May 16, 2009. Roberts was a 2009 finalist for induction in the Washington Racing Hall of Fame. May 17, 2009 Bloodhorse.com article titled Washington Trainer Craig Roberts Dead
Carlo Vanvitelli was an Italian architect and engineer, who worked in Naples and its surrounding area. He was the son of architect Luigi Vanvitelli, two of his brothers were architects. Together with Pietro, he apprenticed under his father in the construction of the Palace of Caserta. Both worked at the decoration at Villa Giulia. During the last years of his father's life, he resided in Caserta directing the works, his other works include Palazzo Berio, Villa Reale, Palazzo Doria d'Angri. Charles and Peter had the same instruction, both worked in the yard of the Palace of Caserta and participated in the construction of Carolino Aqueduct Collecini with Francesco and Pietro Bernasconi. In 1759 they collaborated with their father at the Foro Carolino, their last collaboration was the Collecini for the relief of the Casino di San Nicadro in Barra. Costanzo, Salvatore. La Scuola del Vanvitelli. Dai primi collaboratori del Maestro all'opera dei suoi seguaci. Naples: Clean edizioni
The Serbian Embassy in Budapest is Serbia's diplomatic mission to Hungary. It is located at 1068, Dózsa György út 92/b, Hungary; the current Serbian ambassador to Hungary is Barbara Avdalović. The building used to be a seat of Yugoslavian Embassy and Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro. In 1956, Prime Minister Imre Nagy asked for asylum and secured sanctuary in the embassy after the anti-Soviet revolution was crushed; however he was arrested, deported to Romania and executed in 1958. The embassy overlooks Andrássy Avenue and Heroes' Square, where the 1989 memorial service for the reburial of Imre Nagy and others took place in front of a crowd of 250,000 people. In 2002 Goran Svilanović, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro, proposed opening of Consulate in Szeged but this was never realised. During the ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 in October 2006, the President of Serbia, Boris Tadić, the Prime Minister of Hungary Ferenc Gyurcsány, revealed a commemorative plaque placed at the entrance, dedicated to Imre Nagy.
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