Vernon’s Funtastic tournament and music festival to return in 2022

The Funtastic slo-pitch tournament is the latest major event in Vernon to get the green light in 2022.

Funtastic will be back over the Canada Day weekend after being cancelled for the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We are extremely excited as a board to put the event back on. Definitely, something has been lacking in the last few years, and we as board members are all big fans of Fantastic and what it stands for. It’s a joy and a pleasure to put the event on,” said Jamie Austin, president of the Funtastic Sports Society.

Austin says COVID-19 logistics still need to be ironed out and it’s unclear whether masks will need to be worn, but as of now a full ball tournament and music festival appear to be in the cards.

“We have to just play it by ear with the public health orders and what ViaSport says to us as well,” he said.

Teams are already signing up for the tournament on a daily basis and several teams have carried their registration over from the previous two years when the events were cancelled.

As for the music festival, organizers won’t say who will be appearing on stage until a later date.

As COVID restrictions ease in B.C., other major events have announced they’ll be returning this year. Falkland Stampede organizers said the stampede will be back on the May long weekend earlier this month, and the Interior Provincial Exhibition (IPE) is planning its return after a two-year hiatus, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4.

The Funtastic return promises to be a welcome dose of normalcy for the Vernon area.

“We’re just looking forward to seeing everybody and getting back to some normalcy again,” said Austin.

Find more information or register a team by visiting the Funtastic website or Facebook page.