Anyone who has ever been to the Calgary Stampede knows it is an experience they will never forget. That’s because they and the approximately 1.2 million visitors the event — held annually since 1923 in the largest city in Canada’s Alberta province — draws each year are immersed in the largest rodeo in the world. Billed as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” the 10-day event held every July in the venue known as the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Center features parades, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions and specialty events such as chuck-wagon racing, as well as typical rodeo events such as calf roping and bull riding.
This year, the Calgary Stampede will also feature something totally new that will add to excitement the stampede generates — two NanoLumensNanoSlim 6MM 16 X 9 HD LED display platforms, assuring grandstand crowds in the Agrium Western Center venue of the Stampede that they won’t miss a single moment of the show. The portable NanoSlim displays will be moved to various locations within the venue, depending upon the type of events taking place any given day or night. Effortlessly suspended from a beam above the ground, the NanoSlim will portray live video, graphics and programmed information in a bright, easily visible image. These same screens will be used throughout the rest of the year, supporting conventions, expos and other events that make the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Center one of the busiest event venues in Canada.
“We did a lot of research for LED displays, because the Calgary Stampede has very specific needs that have to be addressed,” explains Mark Muench (RTPM), Events Services Manager for the Calgary Stampede. “I looked around and saw that NanoLumens displays were in a lot of the same kinds of major venues as the Calgary Stampede, such as Cleveland’s International Exposition Center. Also, weight was a crucial consideration for us, because the displays would have to be hung in multiple locations in the venue. The NanoLumens solutions were less than 500 pounds per rigging point, which was the lightest weight of any display available. So these screens were easy to hang and to move, offered excellent brightness, and were extremely cost effective. That made NanoLumens an easy choice.” Muench was even more delighted once he experienced NanoLumens’ customer service, from NanoLumens’ Quebec office, which he described as fast and responsive.
While the Calgary Stampede is still several months away, the two new NanoLumens displays are already getting a workout at convention and expo events taking place at the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Center. Since March of this year, they’ve drawn compliments from event attendees for their brightness, vividness and visibility. “They were used for the Calgary Comic Expo recently and we had a chance to compare the NanoLumens LED displays to a projector and screen they also used for that event, and there was no comparison,” says Muench. “The NanoLumens displays simply look phenomenal. The 6MM pixel pitch offers excellent resolution. They were just what we needed to capture the excitement of the Stampede, or any event here.”