REGINA - The final finishing touches were happening Wednesday afternoon on the REAL grounds for the 2022 Grey Cup Festival.
The location promises to be the hub of festival activities throughout the next several days until Grey Cup Sunday in Regina. This year’s venue also promises a number of new attractions that will provide both a digital as well as an Esports experience to fans for the first time.
Members of the media got a behind the scenes tour inside the Viterra International Trade Centre prior to the doors opening at 5 p.m. Wednesday night. Among the free and family-friendly attractions are the following:
The Digital Zone Presented by SaskTel will include interactive displays and games. There will be seven different activations within the Zone that people can try out.
One of them is Pose with the Pros, where you can include yourself in a digital picture with CFL team members.
Another is the digital game Field Goal Frenzy, where players face off attempting to kick a digital football through the goal posts.
Also offered is the game Mosaic Field Facts, where players test their mental abilities answering football trivia questions.
Also ready will be the Esports Showcase, which will run Thursday, and Esports Path to Glory running Friday and Saturday. Coinciding with the Festival, Brandt Centre will host an Esports gaming tournament which will include players from all over North America from Thursday to Saturday. They will be playing Ultimate Super Smash Bros. for a prize pool of $50,000.
The focus on digital technology and Esports is a first for the Grey Cup Festival as the CFL seeks to attract a new generation of young fans. Crystal Stus, Director of Marketing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, said the idea is to “mirror sports and technology and introduce it to the festival this year.” The intention is to introduce more people to the sport of football.
The SiriusXM Kickoff Party will launch festivities on Wednesday night, with Regina's Colin James the headliner. He will perform starting at 8:15 p.m.
Fans will want to be there right when festivities begin around 7 p.m. as dignitaries including Premier Scott Moe, Mayor Sandra Masters, and Commissioner Randy Ambrosie will be on hand to launch the week.
Organizers are also promising a “special guest appearance” as well (hint: it is not Gainer the Gopher). A particular highlight of the event will be arrival of the Grey Cup, which is being transported down from Saskatoon. It arrives at around 7:30 p.m.
The venue for Wednesday's SiriusXM Kickoff Party will be transformed come Thursday morning into “Riderville” for the rest of the week.
Stus promises this will be “the largest team party room in CFL and Grey Cup history.”
“The size of Riderville this year is larger than a football field. We will have food trucks, live entertainment running daily Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We’ve got a super bar as well and it’s more than 100 feet long with 50 points of service.”
Those are just some of the things people can look forward to when they come to the REAL District. Starting Thursday, there are also outdoor attractions including the NextGen Energy Street Festival, including the SaskPower Tube Slide which is a 30-foot tube slide that people can slide down.
Those attractions run daily Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day. The Harvard Media Community Stage will also feature live performances every day during those same hours.
Sunday will feature attractions including the Grey Cup Fan Fest, the Capital Auto Outdoor Tailgate, and the Due and Durham Indoor Tailgate.
It all leads up to 5 p.m. Sunday at Mosaic Stadium for the kickoff to the 109th Grey Cup between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts.
