Two folding bikes with large red letters. Oohay is Yahoo spelled backwards and a quiet protest.
This is the essence of #oohay - also last night was the first time we heard the Cowboys tent music in our area. I feel so bad for people living at the West end of downtown - thumping.
A red jeep with large off-road tires is driving on a city street at night. The vehicle has its top off and no doors on the sides, and a person dressed in a Santa Claus costume is sitting in the driver’s seat. The jeep has custom modifications, including front bumper lights and decals on the side. The street is well-lit, with visible crosswalk lines and a concrete barrier nearby. The photo is taken from an elevated perspective.
Santa, in a red jeep blasting Christmas music, was doing loops in East Village tonight during the fireworks. It must be the Stampede equivalent of “shooting the drag,” which is a delightful Cape Breton idiom I taught my son this evening. Love it, Santa b’y! #yyc #oohay
Two cargobikes and a sign that reads Oohay which is Yahoo backwards.
Four bicycles parked in one parking spot.
Four knitters go to Ancient Arts Yarns Pancake Breakfast! 🚲🧶 #yycbike #oohay #knitterswhobike #ancientartsyarns #stashlounge
A photo taken at the Métis Stampede Festival 2025 features Sam and me standing side by side in front of a rustic wooden backdrop with furs, pelts, and traditional decorations. Sam wears a striped cap, orange t-shirt, and black shorts. He holds a sign that reads, “I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams.” I wear sunglasses, a wide-brimmed black hat, an orange t-shirt, and jeans. I am holding a sign that says, “There is no tea like Métis.” A framed portrait of Louis Riel hangs on the wall behind Sam’s right shoulders. The setting includes a red-and-white checked table with enamelware, fur pelts, antlers, and a raccoon mount on the floor. Logos for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government and Rupertsland Institute appear at the bottom.
Sam shows his successful star throws on a family-friendly star-and-axe throwing board. He is on a grassy field with an overcast sky, green trees, and city buildings beyond the field.
Sam stands beside a traditional Red River two-wheel wooden cart. Sam is about 189 cm tall, and the cart’s wheel beside Sam goes to his shoulder height. Behind the cart is a traditional Métis all-weather trapper’s tent that could be dismantled and put easily in the cart for transport. Behind Sam are other festival tents.
Five-photo collage: Top: Two small square black canvases with dot-paint designs rest on a speckled countertop. The left canvas is my dot painting. It features a central cluster of pastel blue, pink, and teal dots arranged in a symmetrical starburst pattern, with lines of yellow, white, and teal dots radiating from each corner. Sam’s is the right canvas and displays three clusters of dots: a green and yellow floral-like grouping in the top right, a white and blue cluster in the centre, and an infinity symbol made of white dots near the bottom. Vertical lines of teal dots run along the left and right edges. Middle left: traditional Métis all-weather trapper’s tent that would fit in a Red River cart. It’s made of white canvas with supporting wooden poles. Middle right: A Red River Cart at Calgary NWT painting by Edward Roper circa 1887. The painting features five Métis people dressed in traditional clothes for that period. The setting is a grassy field. A woman and a man look over their left shoulders toward a Red River cart going right. In the cart, a toddler stands up looking toward the viewer. A woman is in a relaxed, lounging pose in the cart beside the toddler looking at the toddler. The cart is pulled by a brown ox with horns. In front of the ox is a man in a suit and hat. Bottom left: Photos of Marie Belcourt and Adelaide Belcourt from 1884 in Fish Creek. The Belcourts are Sam and Brett’s distant cousins. Bottom right: a picture of both Métis flags (white infinity sign with blue and red with summarized text: The Métis Flag, first introduced around 1815 and flown during the Battle of Frog Plain, is the oldest patriotic flag Indigenous to Canada—predating the national flag by 150 years. It features a white infinity symbol on a blue or red background, symbolizing the lasting union of European and First Nations cultures that formed the Métis Nation. The flag represents the enduring spirit and Indigenous identity of the Métis people.
Fun family activity time: Sam and I had a delightful time at the #Métis Stampede Festival 2025 at The Confluence Historical Site and Parkland this morning. #yyc #oohay
Sam, @brettbergie.bsky.social, and I all stayed up late to catch tonight’s Calgary Stampede fireworks. #oohay #yyc
Collage of two photos taken through a window showing two cats indoors behind horizontal blinds. In the top photo, Sterling, a Russian Blue grey cat (right), and Tom, a tabby-and-white cat (left), peer intently through the blinds back into the condo. In the bottom photo, Tom sits in a sunbeam, looking outward, with the window glass and shadows creating a layered, reflective effect.
A collage of three Calgary Stampede parade scenes. Top: People in voyageur historical attire with a canoe. Middle: Tsuut’ina Nation participants on horseback in traditional dress. Bottom: Stoney Nakoda and Kainai Nations participants on horseback in traditional dress.
Four-photo collage of Calgary Stampede Parade with the following photos: Top: Parade marching groups pause for a C-Train to go through an intersection. Middle: CN three-car train float makes a left turn into a parking lot to end its time in the parade. Bottom left: Westjet plane float turns left into the same parking lot to end its time in the parade. Groups of marchers are behind it. Bottom right: CPKC three-car train float in the parade. In front of the float, three people hold a CPKC banner. In all photos in this collage, there are parade spectators, parts of the Calgary cityscape, and trees.
Sam & I did our Stampede trad of watching the parade from our balcony bc the parade ends right in front of our building. Collages of my favourite photos: the cats; voyageur (Sam & @brettbergie.bsky.social ancestoral rep!) & First Nations; trains & plane; awesome cosplay. Details in alt text. #oohay
Everybody has probably heard about the rodeo and midway but the best part of Stampede is the ten days of free pancakes and other breakfast items served up by folks all over the city. If you #YYCBike, you can burn off pancakes on your way to your second or fifth serving of pancakes. #oohay
Oohay sign with two Brompton bicycles in East Village, Calgary, Alberta.
