It's basically Calgary's Mardi Gras.
During the day, the midway is packed with families, all the big companies host atleast one party for their staff and guests at one of the big clubs, everyone gets obscenely drunk and then at night, everyone else comes down and joins them in the drunken shinanigans x 10 days
Also this thread is missing one important aspect of the scenery during Stampede. All the sexy LEGS