A central Alberta rodeo has cancelled its annual parade over “hostility directed toward volunteers” stemming from a disagreement over one of the floats.
The Sundre Pro Rodeo and Race Association said Monday it would cancel Saturday’s parade because one of the parade entries generated “significant public discussion and strong opinions from many individuals.”
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Darby Crouch, media spokesperson for the Pro Rodeo, said an application was made to have a “pro-Alberta float” added to the parade last week.
“We had made the mistake of not allowing them because there was some cautions that it might have a political motive and our parade committee and parade is very cautious due to what happened to us in 2022.”
That year, a John Deere tractor pulling a manure spreader with the phrase ‘The Liberal’ on it in red lettering was entered into the procession by Lynne Hoff.
Hoff’s float also included a volunteer dressed as former prime minister Justin Trudeau and another dressed as then-NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
She denied any hint of racism, instead telling CTV News it was “political satire.”
The parade’s organizers said Hoff’s entry was not approved and allegedly entered the procession without authorization.
‘Our mistake’
Crouch said people were “pretty threatening” toward volunteers in the aftermath of that controversy, which led them to take more caution in the future.
She says this year, staff may have been overly cautious with their screening process.
“We’re an apolitical organization. I think we were a little too cautious this time and openly made the mistake and said we were sorry and called the organizer of that specific float, and said we were sorry for our mistake,” she said.
Crouch said the apology didn’t work and the debate devolved into “online criticism, personal attacks, harassment and abusive messages” directed toward volunteers.
The Pro Rodeo said that’s where a line was crossed.
“These volunteers are members of our community who dedicate countless hours each year to organizing events that benefit Sundre and its residents,” the Pro Rodeo said in its Facebook statement.
“They are not paid employees, nor are they public figures. They are neighbours, friends, parents, business owners and community members who volunteer their time because they care deeply about this event and our town.”
Given that escalation, the Pro Rodeo decided the parade idea would be sent out to pasture.
“The decision to cancel the parade is not a statement about any political viewpoint, movement or cause. The Sundre Pro Rodeo and Race Association respect the right of individuals to hold and express differing opinions,” organizers said.
“The decision was made because the ongoing attacks directed at volunteers have created an environment that is no longer conducive to organizing and delivering the community-focused event that residents have come to expect.
“We want to be clear: disagreement is a normal and healthy part of any community. Harassment, intimidation and personal attacks against volunteers are not.”
Crouch says the comments toward volunteers were “really, really bad.”
“Not as bad as what happened to us in 2022, but it’s definitely really bad, which led to the cancellation,” she said.
“We were monitoring what was going on on specific Facebook groups or Facebook posts or comments on our own posts or emails sent to our general inbox or our media inbox.
“‘We’re going to hunt you down’, ‘publicly humiliate you’, just things of a threatening nature.
“We had seen some death threats as well. They weren’t entirely directed at us, but there were some pretty bad threats.”
She says the rodeo’s board of directors consulted with the RCMP and town council who all decided the cancellation was the best avenue because of the risk involved.
“We even had volunteers dropping out because they didn’t feel comfortable being at the parade,” Crouch said.
“There was talk online that thousands were going to show up and volunteers didn’t have the capacity to put up with that.
“They didn’t know what was going to be coming, so the risk was there.”
Never meant to be a political float
But Zane Novak, who helped organize the cancelled float with two of his close friends, says the float was never meant to be political.
“We were excited to participate in the parade,” Novak told CTV News on Tuesday.
“(Our float) was non-political. It was a simple float with 10 Alberta flags, no banners, no political statements, no leaflets, nothing like that.”
“This float was in support of the province of Alberta ... how has it come to the point where we cannot fly an Alberta flag?”
Novak said he and his friends did not send any threatening messages to parade organizers and that he wants anyone who did to be investigated by police.
“We certainly have not threatened or harassed anyone. We take a very strong position against that,” Novak said.
‘Deeply disappointed’
In a statement, the Town of Sundre was saddened by the decision, but knew it was the right one given the “negative” and “abusive behaviour” directed toward the parade’s volunteers.
“Town council is deeply disappointed that recent online harassment directed toward volunteers has resulted in the Sundre Pro Rodeo and Race Association’s cancellation of this year’s parade,” the town said.
“While council recognizes that people may hold differing opinions, personal attacks, intimidation and harassment — whether online on in-person — are unacceptable.”
The town also thanked the dedication of its volunteers, organizers, participants and sponsors of the Pro Rodeo.
Despite what has happened, Crouch says she doesn’t want anyone to think badly about her community.
“It’s a beautiful community and our volunteers work really hard year-round to put on a great event not only for the community, but for all Alberta. We would love for people to come support out pancake breakfast and rodeo and know that we’re a really great organization.”
The Pro Rodeo says this year’s rodeo events will proceed as scheduled.
The rodeo runs from June 18 to 21.
