HockeyFest – Game On Taking Over Downtown Windsor in May
HockeyFest is excited to announce a new festival date in conjunction with Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, The City of Windsor and The Reklaws. Together, they have launched the first-ever Reklaws hosted HockeyFest in support of the Flo Walker Stardust Fund and mental health initiatives in Windsor.
The Windsor event will be held on May 10th & 11th at Festival Plaza. HockeyFest will offer the traditional HockeyFest tournament formatting with divisions for all ages and skill levels with a guarantee of four games minimum. Each registered player will receive a complimentary ticket to attend an evening concert hosted by The Reklaws, featuring Nate Haller and Griffin Palmer.
“We are thrilled for the City of Windsor to serve as the host community for HockeyFest this year. Downtown Windsor will be buzzing with excitement as another unforgettable event arrives in our community. Thank you to HockeyFest and the Reklaws for bringing the world’s largest street hockey festival to Windsor, and for the work you’re doing to raise money for mental health initiatives both nationally and locally, to support folks in need. Thank you to our partners at Tourism Windsor Essex for continuing to attract unique experiences to our region year after year. While folks are celebrating HockeyFest, I encourage everyone to stop by Museum Windsor’s Chimczuk Museum to see HOCKEY – an exhibition celebrating Canada’s game with a one-of-a-kind traveling exhibition on through May 11th. The display uses photographs and reproductions of key artifacts, memorabilia and works of art to present hockey highlights from yesterday and today, and looks at how the sport has influenced our lives. Building Windsor’s Future is tied to events that help to Strengthen the Core of Downtown Windsor, and that showcase the amenities and experiences that are attracting new investments, businesses, residents and visitors to Windsor and the surrounding region during this exciting time of growth for our community” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
Teams will consist of a maximum of 7 players of all ages, including goalie and will cost $565.00 all in. Teams will have the ability to add 3 additional players per team at $50/player. Registration is open to the public starting Friday, March 7th at Festival Plaza on the Windsor riverfront.
“We are excited to partner with HockeyFest to welcome hundreds of players to Windsor to experience everything that our downtown has to offer. Sport plays an important role in tourism in our region, filling 13k+ hotel rooms each year, keeps our restaurants, attractions and sport venues busy, and helps solidify our place as a sought-after sport tourism destination” said Gordon Orr, CEO Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island.
“We’re really excited to partner with HockeyFest to continue raising money for mental health initiatives both nationally and in communities like Windsor. Can’t wait to see everybody out there to share a great weekend of hockey and music!” said Jenna Walker, The Reklaws
For more info visit www.hockeyfestgameon.com
ABOUT HOCKEYFEST
“HockeyFest is the Lollapalooza of street hockey” – Barstool Sports
Growing up, all we ever wanted to do was play as much hockey as possible. Whether it was Sunday morning skates or late-night games, pre-game cheers or puck drop, road trips and mini sticks or make-shift street hockey, our passion for the game has shaped us into who we are today. It has taught us to be team players, to respect others, to listen carefully, what effort truly means, and that you can’t always win. With sticks in our hands and a team surrounding us, nothing else matters.
Forget about yelling “car,” dragging nets to the curbs, or running down the street to get your ball. Forget about trying to remember the score and about calling your own penalties. Take the essence of hockey, the integration of real rinks, the support of official referees and you get the largest road hockey tournament in North America. Each game is played on 50% to scale NHL sized rinks with real boards, real netting and real referees. With this, we bring you HockeyFest – Game On!
Each tournament features 3 on 3 road hockey for divisions of all ages and genders without the worry of your ball going out, fencing going down or unofficial refereeing. DJ’s will be playing throughout the day with local live music at night. Indulge in your favourite food and beverage vendors, drinks with the team, and kill time by playing our interactive games such as the hardest shot, mini stick rinks, shooting accuracy and more. HockeyFest – Game On! is bringing the passion of sport, music, food and fun together for a family-fun festival.
WHAT MAKES HOCKEYFEST DIFFERENT?
What separates HockeyFest-Game On from other road hockey tournaments? Each game is played on a 42.5ft x 100ft surface with FULL patented dasher boards created by Athletic Sport Systems and netting behind each goalie to ensure no time is lost retrieving balls. All games will be played with certified referees.
All divisions U9 and under will have a roster of 9 players (4 + goalie) and all divisions older will have a roster of up to 7 players (3 + goalie). No matter what, each team is GUARANTEED 4 games and 70% of all registered teams will make the playoffs.
We are fully organized with the best partners in the business to ensure no details are over-looked. Our registration and scheduling process allows for up to the minute updates on any delays or early starts with push messages sent directly to team manager’s phones.
Working hand in hand with our local partners will ensure ongoing entertainment and an overall positive festival experience. Music will be playing, vendors will be selling merchandise and food, beer gardens are provided for the older divisions and interactive games will be available to all ages.
“We hosted our 3rd annual one-day tournament in 2024. The event continues to raise over 400,000 annually! The HockeyFest team were absolutely wonderful to work with” – Tobi Day-Hamilton, Grand River Hospital Foundation
