Dog Pound Rodeo Breakfast, a nearly 30-year-old tradition, returns to the hamlet of Bottrel on July 16 from 7 a.m. onward to help celebrate the 119th running of the Dog Pound Rodeo.
The breakfast is held at the Bottrel General Store and Campground, Alberta's oldest general store, now owned by Bev Guthrie for the past year and eight days.
The 124-year-old store, built in 1901, has never closed its doors since it first opened.
"When people come here to gather, it really is a step back in time because it's authentic," Guthrie said.
"The Dog Pound Rodeo is older than the (Calgary) Stampede," she added. "It's actually the precursor to the Stampede... and it was initiated by the General Store."
The Dog Pound Rodeo itself takes place at the Dog Pound Ground, which is ten minutes northwest of the hamlet.
The breakfast and rodeo are highly significant to the local community, as this event is home to the second-oldest rodeo in Alberta, according to Guthrie.
"Since I'm the new owner of the General Store and Campground, we're still getting to know a little bit about the rodeo, but the breakfast itself has been a tradition since last 30 years or some [approximately]," she said.
For the community, it is a way for them to gather and talk to their neighbours who they don't necessarily get to talk to because they are usually on their farms.
"They like coming together, everybody participates and they help make breakfast," Guthrie said. "Then everybody heads to the rodeo grounds; they are either participating in the rodeo or they are there to observe and the rodeo itself is old-school and genuine."
Though there will be more than breakfast, Guthrie says. There will be a band playing music, this year there might be some vendors present at the venue including local talent such as local fiddlers, cowboy poetry recitations and more.
It would be Guthrie's second year hosting the breakfast.
"When we bought the store last year, we had two weeks to get prepared for the breakfast," she said.
However, Kathy Fenton, owner of Fenton Bus Lines and a resident just down the road from Guthrie, helped organize the 2024 breakfast in just two weeks.
"We probably had more than 500 people come through last year," Guthrie said. "But Kathy is the one who really made a big statement last year."
This year, Guthrie expects well over 500 people to join the traditional breakfast.
According to her, what makes the event even more special is the genuine kindness she experiences in the days leading up to the breakfast.
The community was aware that a new family had recently purchased the store and knew little about the breakfast tradition with less time on their hands. They also recognized how Kathy had taken on many responsibilities herself to ensure the community wouldn't miss out on this cherished event.
As a result, Guthrie shared, "the community really came together," and this one fellow named Nick went down to the camp like he does every year and hauled in 20 picnic tables on his pickup truck without Guthrie even knowing.
"I had no idea who was doing it but it was all done and I think it was the genuine kindness of all the people and how welcoming they are."
Guthrie jokingly shared that she isn't prepared for it all to unfold on July 16; however, she says, "we will see how it goes, that's it."
