Calgary Stampede a prime venue for doing business, if you like cowboy hats and pancakes

As someone who grew up in Calgary, I know the Stampede can be a rootin' tootin' good time.

Many longtime Calgarians roll their eyes at the prospect of 10 days where cowboy boots, white Stetsons, fancy western shirts and bolo ties are considered de rigueur.

But even jaded natives understand the big show, which launches its centennial edition Friday, is a huge moneymaker for the city and a venue for deals that can bolster investment in the economy.

As Toronto Star correspondent Petti Fong reports, Calgary's business execs will be at those daily Stampede pancake breakfasts to schmooze with visitors from elsewhere in Canada and abroad.

"It hearkens back to the times when deals were made on a handshake," Jon Jackson, with the Calgary Hotel Association, told the Star.

[ Related: Silent movie and Archie comics helped put Stampede on the map ]

"During Stampede, huge deals are made and partnerships are made. It's one of the busiest times anywhere in Canada from a hosting and entertaining perspective."

Maggie Schofield, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association, said hotels, restaurants and catering outfits are booked solid during the Stampede as business activity slows down while companies use the event to network.

"The phrase used is, not a lot of business gets done during the Stampede but a lot gets talked about," she said.

The Stampede draws about a million people over its 10-day run, almost a third of them international visitors, making it the city's biggest, most important showcase to attract foreign investors and international workers, the Star reported.

Ben Brunnen, chief economist at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said the Stampede is the largest-grossing festival in Canada.

"And it gives Calgary a huge profile every year," he told 660 News. "So without a doubt Calgary's fortunate to have the Stampede."

Visitors will be exposed to Calgary's new slogan: "Be part of the Energy."

"We're branded with the Stampede and we're branded with being Canada's energy hub," he said. "So making sure that the world recognizes Calgary for what it can offer the world is going to be critical to make sure we get the best possible profile out of major events like the Stampede."

Brunnen said the Stampede generates between $350 million and $400 million for the Calgary economy, and it should be even better in this, the centennial year.

The signs are good, the Star noted. The tarp auction, where companies bid to have their corporate logos on the sides of racing chuckwagons during the Stampede's showcase event, generated a record total of more than $4 million, compared with $2.8 million last year.

The record came despite adverse publicity over the deaths of horses in past races.

[Related: Research aims to reduce horse deaths at Calgary Stampede's chuckwagon races]

Animal-welfare activists claimed victory this week with word that Bell Canada was not sponsoring any rodeo events at the Stampede this year, shifting support to free live entertainment events at the new Bell Centennial Plaza on the Stampede grounds.

"We are not sponsoring the rodeo this year," company spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said in an email to The Canadian Press. "We have decided to focus on the entertainment part of the Stampede in celebration of its 100th anniversary."