Every year for the last quarter century, me and the boys have entered this yearly hockey tournament of the arts. The arts part is the magic as it is filled with artists, musicians and performers rather then alpha-chad hosers and you have to put an act on stage for 30 minutes to prove it.

Hockey

Sure there is hockey involved. I love the sport, have for my whole life and there is nothing like the bond of brothers on a hockey team. All that considered, the hockey does play a role in this awesome weekend but it is the extracurricular activities that make it special.

Zambonioke

Teams really go all out to make this a fun family event. One of such features was zambonioke in the lobby. Open for everyone, especially those who sing, you sit in a makeshift zamboni and sing your favourite karaoke song.



This was one of the highlights as Jen from the Blackhearts and the host duet Total Eclipse of the Heart from Bonnie Tyler back in the 80s. If you know, you know. Otherwise, this will give you a hint.

All in all, some stupid goofy musical fun which match3es perfectly with the weekend.

Tiki Bar?

Yes there is a team called Gritty, and yes they decided to set up a marguerita bar in the same lobby called MarGRITTYville. A picture tells many stories.

Beers

What do you do between games when there are two every day? Beers with the boys. Certainly it doesn't improve your on-ice performance but definitely enhances the overall experience. Only half the guys got in on this shot but a few of us represented with a pint in the middle.



The tailgating is pretty fun too when the sky clears and there is some spring warmth. Dinser seperated his shoulder in a collision and was done for the tournament but was good to go in the parking lot with a sling, ice pack and a pint.

Hootneanny

It really is the concert every night that cranks this weekend to 11. Each of the teams comes up with some sort of act, rehearses it not enough times, and sometimes even markets it with a poster.



For example, the Myna Birds team cranked out a fantastic set in tribute to The Cure. I have over a dozen shots of each of the acts I will have to share in another post to bring you to those fantastic shows with me.

Dufferin Groove

As for us, our team is called the Dufferin Groove. This is our 25th tourney and we decided it would be timely to put together a set of Bruce Springsteen songs with American and Canadian slants.



We picked our theme at the last minute as usual but actually managed to arrange a 3 or 4 jams to decide what we would do and go through it a few times so that it wasn't a shit show. Some of the best time spent is with bros in the studio working on tunes and playing together.

I have reviews of other acts you will want to catch, more stories about the night out with 500 other hockey playing performers, and behind the scenes views on a couple big nights in the big city. I love this one as we have 8 of our team on stage hammering our tunes we barely rehearsed and having a blast along with the big crowd.

Stay Tuned!

As mentioned, I have at least a post with pics and stories from each of the teams to perform at The Hootenanny. 25 years strong and an awesome spectacle as usual so definitely worth following so you don't miss in my opinion.

Here's to sports, beers, buds and live music!

Can it get any more Canadian than this?!