Giants of the Prairies

The Giants of the Prairies are a group of "world's biggest" roadside attractions found in Western Canada, especially in small towns populated mostly by Ukrainian Canadians.

List

Attraction	Community	Province	Image	Date Constructed
World's Largest Badminton Racket	St. Albert	Alberta		2000[1]
World's Largest Beaver	Beaverlodge	Alberta	Beaverlodge beaver	2004
World's Largest Bee	Falher[2]	Alberta	Falher bee	1990[3]
World's Largest Honey Bee	Tisdale[4]	Saskatchewan		1993
Aaron the Blue Heron[5]	Barrhead	Alberta		1984
World's Largest Border Markers	Lloydminster	Alberta and Saskatchewan		1994[6]
World's Largest Bucking Saddle Bronc and Rider, "The Legacy"	Ponoka	Alberta		2004[7]
World's Largest bunnock	Macklin	Saskatchewan	Giant Bunnock (horse's leg bone) in Macklin SK. Summer 2004	1994[8]
World's Largest Curling Rock	Arborg[9]	Manitoba		2005[10]
World's Largest Coke Can	Portage la Prairie	Manitoba	Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, is home to the world's largest Coke can, formerly a water tower.	1994[11]
World's Largest Chuckwagon	Dewberry	Alberta		1995[12]
World's Largest Dinosaur	Drumheller	Alberta	Drumheller T-rex	2001
World's Largest Fire Hydrant	Elm Creek[13]	Manitoba		2001[14]
World's Largest Animated Grizzly Bear	Innisfail[15]	Alberta		2013[16]
Goose Statue[17]	Hanna	Alberta
World's Largest Golf Tee	Trochu[18]	Alberta		2009[19]
World's Largest kielbasa	Mundare	Alberta	Mundare kubasa	2001[20]
World's Largest Mallard Duck	Andrew	Alberta	Mallard duck sculpture in Andrew, Alberta : 23 Foot (7.2 Metre) Wingspan. Weighs 1 tonne.	1992[21]
World's Largest Mosquito	Komarno	Manitoba
World's Largest Mushroom	Vilna	Alberta	World's Largest Mushrooms in Vilna, Alberta, Canada, 20 feet high and 5 feet in diameter
World's Largest Oil Can	Rocanville[22]	Saskatchewan	closeup of "World's Largest Oilcan" in Rocanville, SK. Summer 2004
World's Largest Oil Derrick	Redwater	Alberta
World's Largest Oil Lamp	Donalda	Alberta	Lamp in Donalda, Alberta
World's Largest painting on an easel (reproduction of Van Gogh's Sunflowers)	Altona	Manitoba	Vincent (3692305291)	1998
World's Largest Piggy Bank	Coleman	Alberta
World's Largest Putter	Bow Island	Alberta
World's Large Pinto Bean, "Pinto Macbean"	Bow Island	Alberta
Giant Sunflower	Bow Island	Alberta
Giant Prairie Crocuses	Daysland	Alberta
World's Largest Softball, "Susie"	Chauvin	Alberta
World's Largest Railroad Spike	Hines Creek[23]	Alberta
World's Largest Sundial	Lloydminster	Alberta and Saskatchewan
World's Tallest Teepee	Medicine Hat	Alberta	Medicine Hat Saamis
World's Largest Wagon Wheel and Pick	Fort Assiniboine	Alberta
World's Largest Western Boot	Edmonton	Alberta
Giant Baseball	Edmonton	Alberta
Giant Horse	Irricana	Alberta
David Thompson Monument	Lac La Biche	Alberta
Giant Pumpkin	Smoky Lake	Alberta
World's First UFO Landing Pad	St. Paul	Alberta	UFO Landing Pad in St. Paul, Alberta. Opened on June 3, 1967.
Giant perogy	Glendon	Alberta	World's Largest Perogy. Glendon, Alberta, Canada. 27 ft. tall (8.2296 meters), built in 1991.
Giant Vegreville egg (Pysanka)	Vegreville	Alberta	Vegerville pysanka	1975
Giant potatoes	Vauxhall	Alberta	Vauxhall potatoes
Giant replica of the Star Trek starship USS Enterprise	Vulcan	Alberta	Enterprise replica in Vulcan
Giant gopher	Torrington	Alberta
The Happy Rock	Gladstone	Manitoba	Happy Rock (2935997512)	1993
Canada's Largest Baseball Bat	Battleford[24]	Saskatchewan
Canada's Largest Baseball Glove	Heisler[25]	Alberta
Canada's Largest Buffalo	Wainwright	Alberta
Canada's Largest Dragonfly	Wabamun[26]	Alberta	Dragonfly Sculpture in Wabamun, Alberta
World's Largest Moose, "Mac the Moose"	Moose Jaw	Saskatchewan	Mac the Moose in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Battle between Bear and Swan	Swan Hills	Alberta
Giant Skunk, "Squirt"	Beiseker	Alberta
Alberta's Largest Northern Pike	Rochon Sands	Alberta
Giant Cornstalks	Taber	Alberta
Giant Pinecone	St. Albert	Alberta
Giant Walleye	Shaw's Point	Alberta
Giant Crow	Bellevue	Alberta
Giant Black Diamond	Turner Valley	Alberta
World’s Largest Fishing Lure	Lacombe	Alberta
Canada's Largest Turtle, "Ernie"	Turtleford	Saskatchewan		1983[27]

In popular culture

These attractions are referenced in the Kubasonics song "Giants of the Prairies".

The phenomenon was parodied in the sixth episode of the first season of Corner Gas, "World's Biggest Thing". Wherein one of the characters proposes the construction of the "world's biggest hoe" to draw in tourism to the town of Dog River, leaving some citizens unaware of the double entendre the name elicits.^[28]

References

1. "Going big on the road". St. Albert Gazette. 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
2. "World's Largest Bee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
3. "World's Largest Bee". Mighty Peace Tourism. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
4. "World's Largest Honey Bee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
5. TChizma. "History of Barrhead". www.barrhead.ca. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
6. "Border Markers". www.lloydminster.ca. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
7. "World's Largest Bucking Saddle Bronc and Rider". Travel Alberta. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
8. Matejko, Agnieszka (2023-07-17). "Big Art, Big Smiles". Galleries West. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
9. "World's Largest Curling Rock". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
10. "Arborg, MB, Canada - World's Largest Curling Stone". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
11. "Did you know this about Portage la Prairie's iconic Coke can?". PortageOnline. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
12. "Chuckwagon of Dewberry, Alberta". www.bigthings.ca. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
13. "World's Largest Fire Hydrant". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
14. "Historic Sites of Manitoba: Elm Creek Fire Hydrant (Elm Creek, RM of Grey)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
15. "World's Largest Animated Grizzly Bear". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
16. "Giant metal bear mascot a dream come true". Red Deer Advocate. 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
17. Dalene (2017-07-17). "Travelling in Alberta: An Offbeat Roadside Attractions Road Trip". Hecktic Travels. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
18. "World's Largest Golf Tee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
19. "World's Largest Tee – Town of Trochu". Retrieved 2024-09-02.
20. "The World's Largest Sausage". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
21. "Andrew, AB, Canada - World's Largest Mallard Duck". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
22. "World's Largest Oil Can". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
23. "World's Largest Railroad Spike". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
24. "Canada's biggest baseball bat arrives home in Battleford | CBC News".
25. "Alberta's Premier Village: Village of Heisler".
26. "World's Largest Dragonfly". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
27. "Don Foulds biography". Saskatchewan Network for Art Collecting. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
28. Paquet, Laura Byrne (1 January 2007). Wanderlust: A Social History of Travel. Goose Lane Editions. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-86492-606-7. Retrieved 12 September 2023. But perhaps the most outrageous roadside statue ever proposed was never actually built. In probably my favourite episode of the sitcom Corner Gas, a small group of civic-minded souls in fictitious Dog river, Saskatchewan, are sitting in the local diner brainstorming ideas for a new roadside attraction that will inspire drivers to stop in the little town. What's unique about Dog river? they ask each other. Well, it's a rural community, so they decide their "world's biggest thing" should be a farm implement. they discuss various options and finally settle on a hoe. But it shouldn't be a shiny, new-looking hoe, someone says. Dog river is a hardworking town, after all. It should have clumps of earth on it and look as though it's been well used. What the town needs, the mayor's grandmother concludes, is "a big dirty cracked hoe."

• Travel Alberta. "Unusual Attractions". Archived from the original on 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
• Big Things
• Alberta Big Tour
• World's Largest and Large Things, Google map
• Canada's Largest Baseball Glove