12 hours ago
From Red Deer to Downtown: Free watch parties for Oilers' Game 6 against Florida Panthers
If you're hoping to get to Rogers Place to watch Game 6 on the big screen and don't have a ticket yet, you're out of luck.
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The indoor watch party, with ticket proceeds going to the Oilers Community Foundation, is sold out. If you want to get to the Moss Pit, you'll need to line up well ahead of the 6 p.m. face-off time.
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But there are other family-friendly options, with free admissions, that are happening in and around the city.
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If you do want to watch the game in an arena atmosphere, and on a giant screen, you could always make the 90-minute drive down south to Red Deer. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the Marchant Crane Centrium, where the game will be shown at the home of the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels. Price of admission? A donation of non-perishable goods for the local food bank.
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Jaiden Foster, an administrative assistant at Westerner Park, said previous watch parties have attracted 150 to 200 fans.
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'But we're hoping for a much bigger turnout tomorrow,' she said.
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And, in a place that's halfway between Edmonton and Calgary, where the NHL loyalties are divided between the Oilers and Flames, are there fans at the Centrium who will be cheering against Edmonton, because it's the most Calgary thing they can do. Let's face it, if we lived in a Bizarro universe where the Flames were in the Cup final, could dyed-in-the-wool Oilers fans bring themselves to cheer for that team in red?
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'We bring in a diverse group,' said Foster. 'But the majority of them are Oilers fans.'
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'Hoping to get a good one'
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If Red Deer is too far, the Starlite Room is located Downtown, just a couple of blocks south of the Rogers Place mayhem. The venue is hosting a watch party, doors open at 5:30 p.m., and admission is free. Minors are welcome. The game will be shown on a 16-foot by nine-foot screen. There will be food, drinks, and DJs will play music during breaks in the action.
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'We're continuing to do them, hoping to get a good one,' he said. 'If we go to Game 7, I think it will be good. Tomorrow might be OK, hopefully.'
