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	Image
World's Largest Badminton Racket	St. Albert, Alberta
World's Largest Beaver	Beaverlodge, Alberta	Beaverlodge beaver
World's Largest Bee	Falher, Alberta^[1]	Falher bee
World's Largest Honey Bee	Tisdale, Saskatchewan^[2]
World's Largest Blue Heron	Barrhead, Alberta
World's Largest Border Markers	Lloydminster
World's Largest Bucking Saddle Bronc and Rider, "The Legacy"	Ponoka, Alberta
World's Largest bunnock	Macklin, Saskatchewan	Giant Bunnock (horse's leg bone) in Macklin SK. Summer 2004
World's Largest Curling Rock	Arborg, Manitoba^[3]
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.
World's Largest Chuckwagon	Dewberry, Alberta
World's Largest Dinosaur	Drumheller, Alberta	Drumheller T-rex
World's Largest Fire Hydrant	Elm Creek, Manitoba^[4]
World's Largest Animated Grizzly Bear	Innisfail, Alberta^[5]
World's Largest Geese	Hanna, Alberta
World's Largest Golf Tee	Trochu, Alberta^[6]
World's Largest kubasa	Mundare, Alberta	Mundare kubasa
World's Largest Mallard Duck	Andrew, Alberta	Mallard duck sculpture in Andrew, Alberta : 23 Foot (7.2 Metre) Wingspan. Weighs 1 tonne.
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, Saskatchewan^[7]	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)
World's Largest Piggy Bank	Coleman, Alberta
World's Largest Putter	Bow Island, Alberta
World's Largest Softball, "Susie"	Chauvin, Alberta
World's Largest Railroad Spike	Hines Creek, Alberta^[8]
World's Largest Sundial	Lloydminster
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 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
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)
Canada's Largest Baseball Bat	Battleford, Saskatchewan^[9]
Canada's Largest Baseball Glove	Heisler, Alberta^[10]
Canada's Largest Buffalo	Wainwright, Alberta
Canada's Largest Dragonfly	Wabamun, Alberta^[11]	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
World’s Largest Fishing Lure	Lacombe, Alberta

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.^[12]

References

^ "World's Largest Bee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Honey Bee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Curling Rock". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Fire Hydrant". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Animated Grizzly Bear". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Golf Tee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Oil Can". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "World's Largest Railroad Spike". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ "Canada's biggest baseball bat arrives home in Battleford | CBC News".
^ "Alberta's Premier Village: Village of Heisler".
^ "World's Largest Dragonfly". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
^ 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

[1] "World's Largest Bee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[2] "World's Largest Honey Bee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[3] "World's Largest Curling Rock". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[4] "World's Largest Fire Hydrant". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[5] "World's Largest Animated Grizzly Bear". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[6] "World's Largest Golf Tee". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[7] "World's Largest Oil Can". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[8] "World's Largest Railroad Spike". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[9] "Canada's biggest baseball bat arrives home in Battleford | CBC News".

[10] "Alberta's Premier Village: Village of Heisler".

[11] "World's Largest Dragonfly". roadsideattractions.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-08.

[12] 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."

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