The Grey Cup Festival Tour kicks off Friday (tomorrow, May 31st), with its first stop in Nelson at the Hall Street Plaza from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. before moving on to Castlegar, Grand Forks and Christina Lake.
The festival will be touring 50 cities across the province from May 31- August 31 to promote the annual Grey Cup Festival event in Vancouver on November 10-17.
Executive Director of the Grey Cup Festival, Riley Wiwchar, said the tour gives everyone in the province the opportunity to be a part of the festival in their hometowns.
“The tour gives more people a way to be part of the festival. It’s nice to be able to bring people together, from those who’ve been cheering on the BC Lions since 1954 to newer fans. We also have many families, so we wanted to create something for everyone and give a taste of what people can expect at the Grey Cup Festival and a mini-tailgate party.”
At the festival, fans will be able to visit the interactive tour truck and play games, listen to music, learn about the BC Lions’ history, and enter to win a Grey Cup Grand Prize by participating in the Grey Cup Festival Fan Camera.
“Fans will be able to record a message about what they love about their community, what they love about football in general, and that message will be played at the Grey Cup Festival in November so that the entire province gets to showcase what makes us special.”
A compilation of all the fan video clips will be shown at the festival and Grey Cup in November.
After it kicks off in Nelson, the Grey Cup Festival Tour will continue on to the Castlegar Sunfest on June 1, and then to Christina Lake and Grand Forks on June 2.
It’s been a decade since the BC Lions last hosted the Grey Cup. Tickets for the game go on sale June 4. The game kicks off on November 17 at BC Place Stadium.
You can find the full festival tour schedule and more information here.
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