The BC Lions’ third annual Orange Shirt Day Game will involve special warmup jerseys to be raffled off in support of Orange Shirt Society and Indian Residential Schools Survivors’ Society (IRSSS).
The CFL team will also give 750 free game tickets to residential school survivors and their families, and present a $20,000 cheque to Orange Shirt Society.
On Friday, Sept. 29, the Lions play host to Saskatchewan Roughriders at BC Place Stadium starting at 7:30 p.m.
The next night, on Saturday, Sept. 30, Vancouver Whitecaps FC will have their own Orange Shirt Day soccer game there against D.C. United, also a 7:30 p.m. start.
For the Lions’ football game, the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive free orange shirts with the translation of the words ‘mountain lion’ in the Squamish and hənqəminəm (Musqueam and Tseil-Waututh) languages.
Performers will include Canadian electronic duo The Halluci Nation (at halftime) and DJ Oshow (pre-game), and an Indigenous Marketplace will be presented by Destination Indigenous.
Details of this year’s Orange Shirt Day Game were revealed Tuesday (Sept. 19) at the team’s training facility in Surrey.
🎥 "One of the best things we can do is talk about this and shed a positive light on it."@daneevans9 from Wichita and Affiliated Tribes on #BCLions upcoming Orange Shirt Day game 🏈
FULL INTERVIEW 📺 | https://t.co/MER5WW7zl2 pic.twitter.com/Bw3Qlye7LI
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) September 19, 2023
The special game salutes Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday held Sept. 30. Presenting sponsors are Fortis BC, Pomerleau Construction and Leavitt Machinery.
Jamie Taras, the Lions’ director of community partnerships, said the team is proud to host the Orange Shirt Day game for a third year, “to show our support on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and to also join the entire Canadian Football League in honouring this important day on the calendar.
“As an organization, we feel it is important to broaden our own understanding of the painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools, to raise awareness with our fans and to continue to build strong relationships within the Indigenous community.”
• RELATED STORY/PHOTOS: In Surrey, Indigenous teens learn flag football, life skills from BC Lions players.
