Friday, November 18, 2011

Kraft Hockeyville Nominations are now open

Across Canada today, local communities are marshaling their forces and getting ready to get out the vote, as the Kraft Hockeyville competitions gets underway.

A project that combines the forces of Kraft Foods, the NHL, the NHLPA and the CBC, the wildly popular contest brings hockey communities together, building community spirit in the quest to access 100,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft Foods and the NHL.

Past competitions have found parades, community events and video presentations designed to give their community the leg up when it comes time to voting.

The process of course begins with nominations and in order to qualify communities must make the cut in elimination rounds, with a number of entry deadlines through to December . Canadians can offer up stories and visuals extolling the virtues of their community and how they best exemplify the role of Kraft Hockeyville in Canada.

The final nomination phase will come to a close on January 31, 2012.

The competition plays out over the CBC through December and into January, each benchmark elimination round reviewed on Hockey Night in Canada as towns and cities across the nation seek to make the cut and claim the final championship round, the arena renovations and an NHL exhibition game and Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

This year the competition process has been expanded with five additional spots for community finalists, as well as an early bird prize of 10,000 dollars in hockey equipment from Kraft Canada.

While the grand prize of the 100,000 dollars in renovations is the ultimate goal, there are rewards for those that come close to the top of the list, as the other Top Five communities receive awards of 25,000 dollars for home arena renovations.

The top fifteen communities that are chosen to compete for Kraft Hockeyville will be revealed on Hockey Night in Canada on March 3, 2012.  Canadians will then vote for the top five communities on the 4th and 5th of March.

The Top Five will be revealed on March 17, 2012 with the final voting stage taking place March 18 and 19, Kraft Hockeyville will be announced on March 31, 2012.

Beyond the cash awards and national spotlight, the past competitions have proven to be a pretty interesting example of how a community can come together with a common cause, bringing a winter festival atmosphere to the process of the quest.

Past Kraft Hockeyvilles include

2006-- Salmon River, Nova Scotia
2007-- North Bay, Ontario
2008-- Roberval, Quebec
2009-- Terrace, British Columbia
2010-- Dundas, Ontario
2011-- Conception Bay, Newfoundland

Details on the Hockeyville competition can be found at the following links:

Kraft Hockeyville homepage CBC
Kraft Hockeyville community page
KraftHockeyville Facebook page
Hockeyville Twitter feed

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