The more reasons Sundre gives people to come visit the municipality, the more our community will prosper.
The decades-long effort of dedicated volunteers from the Sundre Rodeo and Race Association has established the Sundre Pro Rodeo as the town’s staple annual event, typically drawing anywhere in the ballpark of 10,000 people over the weekend, give or take a couple of thousand depending on the year and the weather.
While that feat alone is a remarkable achievement — plans are already progressing for next year’s milestone 40th annual event — efforts to come up with new events should also be prioritized.
The Town of Sundre — through its economic development initiative funding — seems to recognize the importance of supporting efforts to organize and introduce new events that not only provide some entertainment for residents but also fuel further interest in enticing new demographics of visitors who might end up deciding to make this area a future vacation destination.
That includes, but certainly is not limited to, events such as the recent second annual Sundre Slingfest, which following last year’s successful rollout returned with an increased turnout, including numerous riders from the U.S. who had before last year’s inaugural rally never even heard of Sundre.
Local businesses all benefit from the spinoff of having additional people come through town. And naturally, the better our businesses are doing, the better the community fares.
Some residents are perhaps leery about the possibility of Sundre’s small-town charm becoming drowned out by camera-toting tourists. But that's not about to happen overnight, and provided growth is managed sustainably as well as with careful planning, increased traffic could be comfortably accommodated.
That being said, the goal is not necessarily to become the next Banff or Canmore — part of the appeal of living in a town like Sundre is precisely not contending with near constant lineups and seemingly endless crowds.
But there has to be some middle ground. We should at all costs avoid stagnation — visitors are an important part of the local economic equation. Whether they visit once, plan to return regularly, or perhaps even eventually decide to relocate or retire here, every contribution counts.
So we commend everyone in the community who works hard to conjure up and organize new events, and look forward to covering them as they come up.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
