I know it
has been quite some time since I wrote any thoughts about the CFL here, but this particular offseason has been busier than usual for me.
Twitter has been STEADY with players and fans’ tweets. I’m not gonna lie… keeping up with a dozen timelines
(my twitter lists) takes up an inordinate amount of time! Then
there’s actually reading the news articles and blogs. A challenging obsession, but I love it nonetheless!
Let’s just
say that with all of this AND my busy paid-job for 40+ hours per week, I rarely have
the luxury of just thinking, much less writing. After a
couple of day’s vacation to reset my brain, I hope that something worthy flows out onto this page
and that some of you can find the information useful. Besides, Calgary is currently enjoying a blustery winter storm, and I'm not going out so I have no excuse but to post something. :)
Grey Cup
2013 - A Celebration in Rider Nation… or #101GC as it’s officially hashtagged…
what’s new on that front? I booked our
hotel room for 4 nights on the morning of the 100th Grey Cup
Championship Game. So I guess I was fortunate, or smart... ;) I haven’t called the
hotels lately, but I do expect that those who were saying that they are
fully booked, might have rooms becoming available now. The reason is that the league folks, teams and
sponsors most likely exaggerated how many rooms that they originally required, and
will be confirming their reservations around now. I hope that results in some of the rooms being released to the public. I say give it a try now because
this is one party that you should try not to miss. Being in the heart of downtown Regina seems
like the preferred location to stay to be near all of the various Grey Cup
festivities, but barring that, I hope that folks can get a room somewhere and
join us for Nov 20 - 24th, the “Ultimate Party on the Prairie”.
Links:
General news about the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 101st GC: http://www.riderville.com/
The preferred accommodation booking site of the
Saskatchewan Roughriders http://www.stayinregina.com/
There is a
site called “airbnb’ that lists rooms to rent by private people and bed &
breakfast arrangements. Hopefully there will be more listings later on, check
it out. https://www.airbnb.ca/
There will
definitely be an RV option for some.
More deets to come, but the location will be right at the Evraz
Place site. Stumbling "home to bed' after some serious Grey-Cupping couldn't be simpler!
There is a link to sign up for
the 101st Grey Cup newsletter. Favourite the page at this link and check back
for all of the GC Festival news as it gets updated or sign up for the email updates. http://101greycupfestival.ca/index
Important Contacts:
You can
follow the official festival accounts on vimeo, facebook and twitter for all the latest
announcements.
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/101greycup
Twitter: https://twitter.com/101GreyCupFest
Festival organizers email contact: info@101greycupfestival.ca
Events:
There is a Google
map showing three sites for events during Grey Cup (so far).
Firstly, the
Evraz Place site. Events listed as of today are: RiderVille, CFL Team hospitality rooms, the 101st Grey Cup Concert Series and the 101st Grey Cup Pre-Game Lunch.
The two
other sites shown on the main map (below) are the 101st Grey Cup Player
Awards (southernmost green dot) and the 101st Grey Cup Gala Dinner (northernmost
green dot).
I have yet
to secure my actual Grey Cup tickets but that is because of my flakey family
member who I share season tickets with in Regina now says that he wants the
tickets after promising them to me a year ago…
O N L Y IF the Riders are in it. Of course they are going to be in the game,
*big grin*, so I guess I have work to do.
Sheesh! I hope to acquire tickets
sooner rather than later... there is a visceral fear that they will be sold out before June... whether that's real or imagined, who knows? A shame though, because I love those upper
section seats… the panoramic view of the Riders’ bench, the players coming out of the
helmet and the entire field is awesome! Like
I hear people say all of the time… you can’t pick your family members. Lol.
Here is the
ticket price map for the 101st Grey Cup in Regina on November 24th,
2013.
Non-Sask Season Ticket Holders pay an additional $30 - 50 per ticket... so Cuz,
you are gonna owe me a few drinks at RiderVille for this inconvenience!
Anyone in
Regina and area who is thinking of volunteering with the Grey Cup Festival needs
to follow them on Facebook for updates in the coming months.
“The 101st Grey Cup Festival is anticipating a need for more than
3,000 Volunteers! There will be an all-call for Volunteers in the Spring
of 2013…please visit our website and/or follow us on facebook for more specific
information in the coming months!”
With all of the player moves and trades through the free agency period it bodes for an exciting time this spring. Training camp is not that far off... only 12 weeks!
I'm really looking forward to the 2013 CFL season and if you're reading this, then I know that you are too!
Cheers.
