Get your cowboy hat. Your Rotary pals in friendly Canada are excited to welcome you to signature convention events, including dinner in their homes, a country music jamboree, and boot-stompin’ celebrations of the Western culture in Calgary.
“We’re a big small-town city, and so the hospitality we have, the ticketed events, the experiences — they will be fantastic,” says Mark Starratt, co-chair of the Host Organisation Committee for the Rotary International Convention June 21–25. Buy tickets at rotarycalgary2025.org.
- Grandstand Spectacular, June 21: This night of showmanship includes indigenous hoop dancing, toe-tapping music, and horseback relay races.
- Rockin’ the Big Tent, June 22: Country music fans and people who want to sample Calgary’s Western charm will enjoy the honky-tonk beats and twangy guitars. The concert is billed as the night “Rotary rocks the roadhouse” in the Nashville North tent.
- New Blood with the Calgary Civic Symphony, June 22: The dance show features Peter Gabriel’s music and explores Blackfoot traditions through the story of a man who survived a government residential school for indigenous children.
- Host hospitality evening, June 23: For this convention favourite, members invite Rotary visitors to their dinner tables, restaurants, or other venues to “break bread and share in fellowship,” Starratt says.
- Western Ranch Showcase, June 24: You may notice you’re holding your breath from excitement when you watch bronc riding of the “wildest, orneriest, out-of-line” horses. The organisers advise, “Pull down that hat brim and hold on tight.”
Learn more and register at convention.rotary.org