EdmontonStingers
Yesterday I went with our son-in-law, daughter and 2 grandsons to the EDMONTON STINGERS basketball game. It was the first time I'd seen a basketball game of that calibre since watching a street game in New York a few years ago. Ticket prices were reasonable, the game was good, the STINGERS won and the fill in activities made sure no one got bored.
Our basketball tickets also included entry into K-Days which was the first time I'd been to KDays in 20-25 years when our kids were small. We spent an hour or so looking around and what a disappointing time that was. One the halls of the Expo centre had a few farm animals in it and another hall was dedicated to an Indigenous theme. There was a strong man competition at the stage area adjacent to Expo Centre which attracted a very small crowd (25-30) of onlookers.That led us to and through a makeshift market tunnel with a few vendors displaying their goods. That led us to the hyper inflationary prices of the midway food fare. On our way back we stopped at the Canadian Army display where the boys looked and held the armaments on display and climbed up into the huge tank.
As exciting and fun filled as the basketball game was KDays was the opposite. If the admission wasn't included with the basketball game the parking and admission would have been a HUGE monetary ripoff. That coupled with the lack of things to attract and interest fair goers attention made for a time ripoff as well.
I think the Klondike theme has outlived its time and to try to perpetuate it with offerings like this year will ensure its demise. I suggest KDays be put into the history books and something new showcasing Edmonton replace it,
Many Edmontonians don't know who the Edmonton Stingers are and many, including me have not seen them play. I know they have been Canadian Elite Basketball League champions the last 2 years and have made basketball popular in Edmonton. To give back to the commuinity the Edmonton Stingers will be putting up nets at all city-owned basketball courts as part of the Fresh Hoops Initiative. Jahmal Jones who is one of the Stingers players said "Obviously we want to win championships on the court, but it’s also nice to have a championship mentality off the court.”
#EdmontonStingers, #FreshHoopsInitiative, #new basketballnets, #JahmalJones