Kelowna’s Tim Frayne could hardly believe his ears after receiving a call informing him he was the latest winner of the Key to the SOEC (South Okanagan Events Centre).
That was in part because he couldn’t decipher what the caller was saying because of a bad phone connection.
“Then I was just surprised, totally surprised. I totally forgot I entered, why is SunFM calling me?” recalled Frayne this week after officially receiving his giant key. “It must have been a few weeks ago (he entered). I’ve been down here (SOEC) before and was just looking (online) to see what’s coming next and I’m glad I did.”
Frayne’s name was the one chosen out of the record 7,500-plus entries received for the third annual promotional contest that includes two free passes to every ticketed event at the SOEC for the next year.
The contest is a partnership between the SOEC, Penticton Western News, Kelowna Capital News, Sun FM and EZ Rock.
Related: Key to the SOEC 2017 winner grateful for experience
Last year’s winner, Christy Petersen and friends attended a total of 14 events in all.
In addition to the entire concert schedule, there are also tickets to the Penticton Vees home games, the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars tournament and other special events.
“This is the biggest prize that we give away each year and it’s no surprise that it’s grown in popularity in the last three years,” said Carla Seddon, SOEC marketing director. “We had 25,000 visits to the contest page which is pretty exciting both for our media partners and for us.
Related: Key to the SOEC winner announced
“This a way for us to say thank you. We know that people have a choice when it comes to where they spend their entertainment dollars, and there’s so much to chose from in the Okanagan, and it’s a great way to give back to everyone who supports all the events and concerts throughout the year.”
She added it’s also giving people exposure to events they might not be able to afford or might not have bought a ticket to otherwise.
“That’s nice to see, people broadening their horizons,” said Seddon.
“We are so lucky to have the SOEC in our backyard and the support that we’ve received over the last 10 years has been phenomenal and it just gets better and better.
“The more support we receive, the bigger and better shows we are able to bring in and there’s no end in sight.”
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
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Mark Brett | Reporter
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