After a tough year marked by wildfires in northern Alberta and economic woes from a crash in oil and gas prices, the Calgary Stampede will be an opportunity for Albertans to “reboot” and “stop worrying,” the executive chairman of brokerage FirstEnergy Capital says.

The 10-day cowboy festival, which kicked off Friday and is expected to draw 1.1 million people, usually takes over Calgary – and this year, it’s “much-needed,” Jim Davidson told BNN in an interview.

“Everyone gets wrapped up in the emotion of [the Stampede], and you can forget a little bit what’s going on,” Davidson said

“The mood of the city is getting a little bit better.  I think that on the whole, people believe that the worst is behind us. And so, I think they’ll just relax and have a good time over the next 10 days.”

Davidson said that while many corporations have cancelled Stampede parties this year, businesses will still use the event to give back to charities in more of a “behind-the-scenes” manner.

FirstEnergy, for example, will not hold its Stampede party and decided to donate $100,000 to four different charities, he said.

“It’ll be a bit more somber this year, but … [a lot of corporations] are still actively giving back because of what happened in Fort McMurray this year, which is so close to our hearts here in Calgary and Alberta,” Davidson said.

“There’s been a lot of smaller corporate events where the fundraising is to go to that area, and I think that’s fantastic.”