There’s no sign saying where it is. The outdated teal paint on the old brick walls is faded and peeling. The lighting is dingy. The floor is littered with peanut shells, spilled drinks, straw and manure — a mixture of which probably contributed to its name.
It’s also been home to many memories (some of which were never remembered) at Agribition over the 45-year history of Canada’s largest livestock show.
2015 marked the final year for The Swamp — the nondescript, but infamous bar underneath the stadium bleachers — as the stadium and old cattle barns on the Agribition grounds are being torn down to make way for Regina’s new International Trade Centre.
Related: End of an Era at Agribition
There are stories about cattlemen making high-priced deals on genetics, prize-winning bulls being marched up to the bar and a (surprising?) number of marriages that trace their beginning back to The Swamp. Many of these tales came out of the woodwork (or patched-up concrete, in this case) as visitors to Agribition said farewell last week.
We spoke with Kent Anderson, who’s been tending the bar at The Swamp since the mid-’80s, about the watering hole and its place in Agribition’s history:
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