Free Pancakes Are An Annual Tradition In This Canadian City

Pancakes are always a good idea ... but free pancakes may be an even better one. In Calgary, Canada — an underrated, charming city in the heart of Alberta — free pancakes aren't just a sweet, syrup-clad breakfast; they're also a longstanding cultural tradition that dates back to 1923. For the last century, Calgary businesses have offered free pancakes in conjunction with July's Calgary Stampede: a ten-day rodeo celebration that pairs concerts, food, art, and indigenous traditions with Western Canadian fanfare.

Within that lineup, pancakes have become a core food group; it's customary for both Calgary visitors and locals to wait in line for free flapjacks any morning of Stampede, per the Stampede Breakfast Calendar. Admittedly, the pancakes don't come from any one place but are, instead, ubiquitous across the city, reflecting Calgary's values of community and camaraderie. In fact, restaurants, pubs, stadiums, community groups, neighborhood organizations, shopping centers, and the like all offer their own spin on the same pancake tradition.

Pancakes are served outdoors from an associated parking lot or street area, usually alongside breakfast sausage. Although, depending on the group, some pancakes are accompanied by more specialized sides. For instance, the Ismaili Muslim community serves them with scrambled eggs and bharazi. Meanwhile, Calgary's Pacific Hut Restaurant pairs pancakes with a Filipino twist. Clearly, pancakes have become a present-day Stampede tradition, with a robust history anchored within larger Calgary culture. The earliest pancakes actually came from cowboys and have chuckwagon roots.

If big-name performances and seven rodeo events aren't enough to sell you on the Calgary Stampede, maybe free pancakes will cinch the deal. Calgary started its pancake tradition roughly 100 years ago, when rancher Jack Morton broke out his cookstove just a few years after the first-ever Stampede. Following that one-off simple pancake breakfast, chuckwagon crews began to serve flapjacks on 8th Avenue, and today's tradition took hold.

Luckily, the city's fascinating Sam Centre catalogues the history of Stampede with a variety of exhibitions and even an immersive lasso tutorial. As for pancakes specifically, one Sam Centre report adds that those chuckwagon breakfasts gradually evolved and expanded into the major, city-wide tradition of today. Over the years, Calgary's free pancakes have had political ties — "politicians used these community events to network, entertain, and bolster their public image," the report notes — as well as associations with different religious and charitable groups.

Granted, pancakes may seem like a simple and straightforward meal, but in Calgary, food is tradition. After all, what else could you expect from the city responsible for the Bloody Caesar (a drink you probably didn't know was invented in Canada)? After you eat your free Stampede pancakes, you may want to sip that signature, decades-old cocktail from Caesar's Steakhouse ... and maybe try some traditional Alberta beef, too.