The Rogers Hometown Hockey event is set to take over Abbotsford on Saturday and Sunday.
The hockey festival celebrates the sport from coast to coast, and brings activities, games, live entertainment and food trucks to Exhibition Park in central Abbotsford.
Perhaps the biggest winner of the weekend is the Abbotsford Minor Hockey Association, which will receive a donation of $15,000 from Scotiabank on Saturday.
Former Vancouver Canucks player Brendan Morrison will be on hand on both days to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.
Scotiabank commemorative jerseys will be given away free to all youth under 16. The jerseys are branded “Abbotsford” on the back, with the number 16 to recognize the year the tour came to Abbotsford. Also on hand will be an Instaprint machine, which instantly prints photos if they are tagged to Twitter or Instagram with #the5thseason.
Other activities include: the Rogers Share Everything Zone, where fans can engage in unique interactive experiences; the Scotiabank Community Locker Room featuring meet and greets with NHL alumni, interactive games and a Scotia Hockey Club commemorative jersey giveaway for youth 16 and under; The Dodge Stow ’n’ Go Challenge as well as a chance to win a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan and $5,000 for a local minor hockey association; Samsung’s The Situation Room, where fans can test their skills against a series of hockey plays, just like NHL officials in this interactive studio; Sportsnet Be a Broadcaster, where participants can call an NHL game highlight reel alongside Sportsnet anchor Evanka Osmak; PlayStation video games; and ball hockey.
Local hockey teams also have an opportunity to win the Cheer Like Never Before contest. Teams can upload a video of their team cheer, with the top five vote-getters invited to take part in the festivities when the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour visits Abbotsford. The winning team in each town will then be in the running to win the trip of a lifetime – including a trip to an NHL game and a VIP Game Day Experience – and perform their team cheer in an NHL dressing room.
Saturday’s festivities run from noon to 6 p.m.
The activity ramps up on Sunday, with broadcasters Ron MacLean, Tara Slone and Caroline Cameron; country musician Chad Brownlee; and Canucks alumni Morrison, Kirk MacLean and Jyrki Lumme on hand.
The Scotiabank Hot Stove with Morrison runs from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. on Sunday.
The NHL match-ups feature the Calgary Flames vs. Anaheim Ducks followed by the Colorado Avalanche vs. Vancouver Canucks, with a special pre-game show hosted live on site by Ron MacLean from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio beginning at 3:30 p.m on Sportsnet. The festival goes from 11 a.m. until the end of the Canucks game on Sunday.
For more on the tour, visit hometownhockey.com.
