The 2011 Grey Cup festival is ready to raise the roof.
Party plans for the largest sporting event in Canada were released Thursday, which includes a parade, street festival, family zone and two concert series.
“What’s going to make this Grey Cup as exciting and more successful than the last Grey Cup in Vancouver in 2005 is the fact that we’re going to completely engage our community in everything that we do,” said Scott Ackles, Grey Cup festival committee general manager.
The TELUS StreetFest will feature 17 free concerts, including performances from Kyprios, Bend Sinister, Hey Ocean and Said the Whale. Fans can also take in a free football experience and enjoy live entertainment in the Molson Canadian House at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.
Premier Christy Clark said this is the province and Vancouver’s time to shine and prove what it is to be a real Canadian football fan.
“This is going to be a lot more like what we saw during the Olympics,” Clark said. “The crowds will be dispersed. It’s highly organized and … I really do think this is going to be a family event.”
Potential problems are unlikely, she added, but the organizers, the city and the province are all prepared to face anything.
Clark is also urging volunteers to step up to make the festival a success.
“We’ve proven that we’re hosts in B.C and Vancouver and that we’re a great province of volunteers,” she said. “When you volunteer here, you will meet people all across this country, some of them with watermelons on their heads.”
The Grey Cup festival is estimated to have economic impact of $ 100 million and has 650 volunteers helping out between Nov. 24-27.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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