Maple Lodge Farms Hockey Festival

On April 2, 3, and 4, 2010, my son attended the Maple Lodge Farms Hockey Festival at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre in Whitby. I thought it was a fantastic event. They have a lot for the kids to do such as a play area with a big bouncy slide, Playstation games, mini stick games, basketball, and more. The arena is a large facility with 6 arenas. It also had a great food court and was very modern and clean. Since it was Easter, there was a giant Easter bunny walking around and giving out chocolate eggs to the kids. The little ones enjoyed that. All in all, if you get a chance to go to this event it is worthwhile. The only downfall was that my son only played one game per day over the 3 days. That is a lot of travelling if you do not stay overnight in Whitby.

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program

Have you seen the commercial where the young boy sees a Help Wanted sign on a restaurant and goes in to talk to the owner and states that he would like to apply for the job. The owner looks at the boy and says, "Shouldn't you be out playing hockey or something?" and the boy replies "Well that's what I'm trying to do." It is an eye-opening commercial. 1 in 3 families cannot afford to enrol their kids in community sports.

The Jumpstart Program financially helps disadvantaged kids between the ages of 4 and 18 so that they can play sports such as hockey, swimming, and soccer. We all know how expensive these sports can be and all kids should have the ability to take part in community sports and to stay active and healthy. Being involved in community sports greatly adds self-esteem to any child and gives them a sense of accomplishment. Friendships are also made and nurtured among the kids and parents. The Jumpstart Program is a charitable organization that receives funding from many different sponsors and they also accept donations from the public. If you would like to make a donation or apply to the program, please visit the Canadian Tire Jumpstart website to get more information. Canadian Tire also holds many charitable events which are also posted on the website.

Olympic Medals at Hockey Hall Of Fame

There is a fantastic exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame right now that showcases all of the 47 Olympic medals from both Winter and Summer Olympics. The medals range from the years 1896 to 2010! There are 140 medals in total. The medals are on loan from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. I always thought that the gold medals were made from solid gold but since 1912, gold medals are made mostly out of silver but are plated in six grams of 24K gold. You can find out more info at the Hockey Hall of Fame website.

Crosby's Glove and Stick Found

Sidney Crosby's missing glove and hockey stick have been located. Apparently they were just misplaced and not taken after all. His glove was found in Patrice Bergeron's bag and his hockey stick somehow ended up in Russia in a shipment bound for the International Ice Hockey Federation. I am glad to hear that everything was found. The Hockey Hall of Fame wants his gloves and stick but I haven't heard what he plans to do with them yet.