Parade, Pancakes & Polytechnic Pride for Westerner Days 2025

Jul 21, 2025
Stuart Cullum, RDP President, and Rufus, RDP mascot, at RDP's Westerner Days Pancake Breakfast on July 18, 2025

Stuart Cullum, RDP President, and Rufus, RDP's mascot, enjoying Westerner Days festivities.

The RDP community brought an energetic buzz to Westerner Days 2025 with a bold parade presence and a bountiful breakfast that saw main campus packed with people and sweet syrup flowing.

Festivities started on Wednesday, July 16, when staff, students and Rufus the Lion (RDP's mascot) hit downtown streets for the annual Westerner Days Parade. Our float, built in-house with support from the School of Trades and Technology, rolled through downtown like a mobile billboard showcasing RDP pride. With chants of “RDP” and a sea of waving flags, the energy was unmistakable (from more than 30 faculty and staff from across RDP who represented the Polytechnic, and from community members attending the parade).

RDP faculty and staff represented the post-secondary institution in the Westerner Days 2025 Parade

Then, on Friday, July 18, we traded flags for spatulas at our on-campus Pancake Breakfast. From the first sizzle of sausage to the last swirl of syrup, the Pancake Breakfast drew a hungry and enthusiastic crowd. More than 1,200 community members stopped by Parking Lot 1 for fluffy pancakes, fresh coffee and a morning filled with music and activity.

People flipping pancakes at RDP's Westerner Days Pancake Breakfast on July 18

Rewind Radio kept the beat while guests explored interactive booths showcasing RDP’s hands-on programs, applied research and training opportunities. There were lawn games, giveaways and plenty of great conversations, the kind that happen naturally over coffee and sunshine.

RDP thanks our event partners, including:

  • the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce
  • Aramark
  • BEST Service Pros
  • BGIS
  • Commissionaires
  • Westerner Park
  • and CANA Construction 

Our partners helped to make the Pancake Breakfast a great success for our community. 

And a heartfelt thanks to community members who showed up to enjoy breakfast with non-perishable and cash donations to the Students’ Association Food Bank. 

More than 1,200 community members attended RDP's Westerner Days Pancake Breakfast

From the streets of downtown to the heart of campus, during Westerner Days 2025, our Polytechnic community was excited to share our Yahoo spirit and demonstrate what it means to show up with purpose.

Media Inquiries

Communications Team
Phone: 403.342.3389

Email Us

Related News

RDP Employees with Float at Westerner Days 2024 Parade
RDP Creates Community Memories During Westerner Days 2024
350 pompoms and 365 meters of garland. 2,000 fluffy pancakes and 2,000 savoury sausages feeding 1,000 hungry central Albertans. More than 75 of our faculty and staff greeting thousands of central Albertans along a parade route and at a pancake breakfast. This all adds up to one memory-filled week as Red Deer Polytechnic participated in the 2024 Westerner Days Parade and capped the week off with our first-ever pancake breakfast. Westerner Days Parade The festivities began with our enthusiastic participation in the Westerner Days Parade, on July 17. RDP’s float showcased the creativity and skill of our talented team. Staff from the School of Trades and Technology lent their expertise to build the float, including a rotating sculpture of the RDP logo. Marketing & Communications team members took a couple of hours to decorate the float, complete with RDP’s signature green and purple colours showcased in pompoms, garland and other décor. As the parade kicked off on a beautiful, sunny morning, RDP’s float, accompanied by Rufus, our beloved mascot, President Stuart Cullum and numerous faculty and staff, walked through the streets of downtown Red Deer, greeting thousands of central Albertans, spreading cheer and showcasing our post-secondary institution’s vibrant community spirit