Lawyer? Doctor? Teacher? Construction worker?
Heck, no.
Seth Moyers wants to be a professional mascot when he leaves high school.
Yes, the person who dresses up in a costume and performs at sporting events, public appearances and competitions.
Moyers, who attends Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Tenn., will bring his mascot persona, Victor E. Tigers, to Vernon for the first Mascot Games, a fundraising event for B.C. Children’s Hospital and the currently-being-constructed JoeAnna’s House in Kelowna.
The Mascot Games will feature nine local and three import mascots representing sports teams and businesses competing in a variety of events over two days at Kal Tire Place, May 11 and 12.
“I would love for this to one day become my profession,” said Moyers in an interview in his hometown paper, the Elk Valley Times, in 2017, shortly after he won the national Mighty Mascot title (and a trip to Disneyworld and $1,000) in Varsity Brands’ School Spirit Awards. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
“I really enjoy connecting with children, seeing their faces light up when I interact with them. It’s just so much fun when you make that connection and they want to come back and see you again and have their picture made with you.”
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Victor E. Tigers will be joined by fellow American mascots Biscuit the Bulldog, from Allen, Texas, and the Allen Americans, and Nugget, mascot of the Rapid City Rush of Rapid City, South Dakota, both from the minor pro hockey league ECHL.
They’ll compete against local legends Sniper of the B.C. Hockey League’s Vernon Vipers; Silver Fox from SilverStar Mountain Resort; Breadhead from Cobs Bread; Parka the Beaver, representing Parks Canada; Beacon the Beaver, of West Kelowna’s Kizzmit Tourism; Rocky, from the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets; and BCHL mascots The General of the West Kelowna Warriors; Rocco from the Powell River Kings and HarVee of the Penticton Vees.
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The mascots will host a Mascot Mingle Meet and Greet Friday, May 10, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Kal Tire Place. This is where people can get the mascots’ autographs and have their pictures taken with them.
The Games go Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, mascots will compete in a relay course, jousting tournament and dance battle – all in costume. On Sunday, the competitions include another obstacle course and lip sync battle, followed by the awards.
Tickets for the event are $12 plus GST for kids and seniors, $15 plus GST for adults, and are available for purchase at eventbrite.ca.
“The first 200 people to purchase tickets will get a swag bag featuring items from local sponsors and from the mascots,” said Games organizer Cori Inman of Kizzmit Tourism.
Emcees for the event are former mascots Matt Biegun and John Young from Jacksonville, Florida, who host a mascot podcast called The Unsuited. Both have been plugging the Vernon Games on their podcasts with a commercial on the event.
“Everyone we’ve run into loves the idea (for the Mascot Games),” said Inman. “They’ve all said we need more family, fun entertainment in the region.
“People love mascots and even young kids, if they’re scared of them, there’s a glass partition between them and the mascots inside the arena so they can feel safe behind the glass.”
Kal Tire Place was selected as the venue for the first Mascot Games because of its layout and seating capacity, said Inman.
Mascots will spend the Thursday before the event ziplining at Oyama Zipline Adventure Park in costume, and visiting children in the pediatric ward at Kelowna General Hospital.
Proceeds from the event will go to B.C. Children’s Hospital and JoeAnna’s House, which is similar to Ronald McDonald House except it will be facility for all ages, not just children.
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