Alot of people had their names drawn for coveted tickets for Sunday’s NHL pre-season game, but they haven’t all been claimed.
So that begs a couple of questions. What will happen with those tickets still sitting there? Are there still opportunities for people not selected during the original draw to get inside Vernon’s Kal Tire Place?
“I’ll be honest. At this point, we don’t know,” said Angie Clowry, one of the Lumby Kraft Hockeyville organizers.
What Clowry is encouraging residents to do is attend a range of Hockeyville activities in Lumby Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“If we do have tickets to give away, potentially we will give them away at those events,” she said.
Of the 1,644 tickets for the pre-season game Sunday at 6 p.m. and the 1,790 tickets for a 9:30 a.m. practice session (also at Kal Tire Place), Clowry isn’t sure how many aren’t claimed.
“Many of them are for the practice,” she said, adding that some ticket-holders have turned them down so they can be passed on to local youth wanting to mingle with NHL stars.
“We want as many kids as possible involved.”
Not surprisingly, there has been some social media chatter about the ticket lottery and suggestions that it hasn’t been fair.
Obviously, there will be those disappointed that they won’t get to see the Oilers and the Kings play but the reality is there is only so much room available in Kal Tire Place. On top of this, first priority had to be given to residents of Lumby and Cherryville, who worked extremely hard behind the scenes to earn the Hockeyville honour.
No system is perfect, but the lottery was as balanced and fair as possible.
Clowry isn’t focusing on the criticism as the 12 primary organizers are very busy.
“There’s not a lot of us pulling this off,” she said of planning the special events and covering a range of items like parking and security.
“We won’t make everyone happy but we’re doing our best leading up to the final hurrah.”
Lobbying for the Hockeyville title began nine months ago — a few months after the death of Peter Catt, a popular hockey coach.
“It’s been a way to take our grief and put it towards something positive. We’re doing this for Peter,” said Clowry.
“If we encourage people to get a checkup for heart health, we’ve done a good job.”
Clowry has been overwhelmed by the response to Hockeyville, including two Vernon seniors who were first in line to claim their tickets.
“They were walking slow but there was a real pride for hockey and the community,” she said.
In another case, a Calgary man picked up tickets so he can take a young boy to the game. The boy is an Oilers fan and his father recently died.
With the timer ticking towards faceoff, we all need to remember what Kraft Hockeyville has achieved. Much needed repairs will occur at Pat Duke Memorial Arena and the entire region pulled together as a unified voice. Whether you are at the game or not, that is something to celebrate.
My congratulations to everyone who has made this experience happen.