Rogers Hometown Hockey Making a Stop in Nanaimo, BC!

by Lisa Ovens

Season three of Rogers Hometown Hockey broadcast will include a stop in Nanaimo, BC on Vancouver Island...my hometown! Okay...my other hometown, Vancouver, BC is also a stop on the Hometown Hockey tour during the 2016/17 NHL season. However, I must give special congratulations to Nanaimo, a small island town forever living in the shadow of  BC's capital city, Victoria, also located on Vancouver Island. Hooray, Nanaimo!

I moved to Nanaimo from the mainland when I was just four years old, living there all the way up to attending the local university before moving away to take on the rest of the world. Often, when I was in Vancouver, people would ask me where I was from and the conversation usually went like this...

Vancouver person: Where are you from?
Lisa:  The Island!
Vancouver person (smiling): Victoria? It's so nice there...
Lisa: No, Nanaimo!
Vancouver person: Oh.

Well, Victoria...its going to be all about Nanaimo this hockey season, and, of course, the other 23 Canadian communities selected to host the the traveling hockey show. Woot!

For American readers of this blog, allow me to explain what the show is all about:

Rogers Hometown Hockey Mobile Studio

Rogers Sportnet launched Hometown Hockey during the 2014/15 NHL hockey season as a means to connect with hockey crazy towns in Canada, from sea to shining sea. The Rogers mobile studio truck pulls into the hometown to broadcast a Sunday, prime time NHL game, as well as featuring the hometown's local hockey scene. The hometown plans the event to include a whole weekend's worth of activities leading up the NHL game broadcast. Basically, think Hockey Day in America, but, because this is Canada, Imagine every weekend is Hockey Day in America!

This must be in the cards for me because one of the NHL teams on the schedule for Nanaimo's stop is the Florida Panthers! Wow...I had a work visa in South Florida for several years - the Panthers became my hometown team there!  On Sunday, February 26th, 2017, 7:00 pm, Eastern time, The Panthers will be playing the Ottawa Senators, and, during the game's broadcast, my hometown of Nanaimo will become the backdrop for the entire evening. The even crazier part...Hockey and High Heels headquarters are currently located in Nanaimo right now!

I'm looking forward to covering this event as we lead up to the big weekend in late February, 2017.

For more information...


Nanaimo News Bulletin article...click here

Hometown Hockey Tour Schedule... click here

Go Nanaimo :o) 

BTW, here's a beauty shot of Nanaimo's harbour...

photo link

 

Become a fan of Handmade by Heroes, Sports Fans !!!

by Lisa Ovens

Look what arrived in the mail...a beautiful, handcrafted, paracord Vancouver Canucks bracelet courtesy of my awesome hockey friend, Marie in Nashville!! Marie ordered it online from Handmadebyheroes.com. The heroes also produce a bevy of other bracelets, along with key chains and lanyards. The collections include NHL, NFL, MLB and NCAA teams to cover sports enthusiasts. They also have created some beautiful Medical ID bracelets and military bracelets, too.

The clasp is fantastic... not only is it a stunning piece of hardware, but I can easily put it on without assistance - such an important feature for anyone who has difficulty managing bracelets. The website has a video for helping shoppers determine their sizing needs.

 I think every NHL hockey fan should get one of these bracelets. Not only are they beautiful, the sale of each bracelet means a veteran earns money. As per their website, handmadebyheroes.com...

With every product you purchase, Handmade By Heroes employs a disabled veteran to make it. Our program not only teaches necessary job skills to help with transition in to the civilian work force, but provides therapeutic work and an environment which helps Veterans combat conditions such as PTSD, TBI and arthritis. 

By buying our products, you are helping to empower our nations veterans. 

Handmade by Heroes has partnered with Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC).  They are donating a portion of the proceeds of the Vancouver Canucks Paracord Bracelet (as well as the other Canadian NHL teams) to WWC which will directly support Canadian Armed Forces military members, veterans and their families.

Pens: Stanley Cup Champs, 2016

There is really only one thing to do at this point, readers...visit handmadebyheroes.com now, purchase some of their great accessories for yourself and some gifts for your friends and family. You'll be buying excellent quality and workmanship, you'll help employ disabled veterans, you'll be showing the veterans and their families that you care, and your wrist will have never looked more fabulous during the upcoming season!

Now go visit the link below to learn everything you need to know so you can help spread the word, get your shopping on and give your credit card a little workout for a good cause!!

handmadebyheroes.com

Thank you so much, Marie....you are the best :o)