For the seventh year, past players from the Saskatchewan Roughriders will spend the night of Oct. 18 mingling with supporters at the Roughriders Alumni Gala, among an incredible selection of food and spirits.
Chris Best, who played ten seasons with the Roughriders from 2005 to 2016, dropped a lengthy list of alumni he expects will be attending the night — including two-time Grey Cup champion Chris Getzlaf, CFL Hall of Fame inductee Gene Makowsky, linebacker Mike McCullough, Alumni president Rob Bresciani, Regina-born Greg Fieger, career Rider Chris McKenzie, and of course, himself, alongside many more.
“We have a decent crew for sure, kind of spanning a number of generations,” said Best. “We only have four big events a year, so it's usually pretty well-attended by alumni.”
Best is still working on securing living legend George Reed to make an appearance, as well as Bob Poley who played for the Riders from 1978 to 1984 and again from 1988 to 1992, for that Grey Cup win in 1989.
The evening will feature the chance to meet and greet alumni, hear their stories, and support the charity of choice for the evening: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Moose Jaw, who will receive all of the night’s proceeds.
And because Rider Nation is nothing if not loyal, fans attending the event don’t have to worry about missing that night's game between the Riders and the B.C. Lions because it will be broadcast live on televisions during the evening.
The Alumni gala usually takes place in Moose Jaw but this year a change in venue has moved the event to the RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina, although organizers have arranged a bus service to bring Moose Javians to and from the event.
The Alumni Association always tries to expand its support to communities outside of Regina and to raise funds that will positively impact youth in the community.
“We really believe in the Big Brothers Big Sisters’ cause. They do great work out there and they really help those at-risk youth and just make sure every kid's got a chance to have some fun and be a kid,” said Best. “It's a match made in heaven for us. We're bending over backwards to try to help out Big Brothers Big Sisters.”
Tickets for the event are still available for purchase, either online through Ticketmaster or by calling the Roughrider ticket office at 1 (888) 474-3377.
The event is formal and will begin with a champagne reception at 6 p.m., with festivities wrapping up at 11 p.m. The Roughrider Alumni Association asks that attendees purchase their tickets prior to the evening.
Buses will meet at the Boston Pizza on Main St. & Thatcher at 5:30 p.m. to take gala attendees to Regina for the evening, and bring them home after the event is over at 11 p.m. More updates about the event can be found on the Facebook page.
Best hopes to see a great crowd out for the event.
“We have lots of really good food people lined up and lots of really good drink people lined up, too, so we're really excited about what we're offering,” said Best. “People need to come hungry and thirsty because we're going to have more than enough for everybody, that's for sure.”
