- Fort Smith receives $25,000 to put towards building a temporary arena after a fire damaged the Fort Smith Centennial Arena in May -
- SPORTSCENTRE broadcasts live from the Northwest Territories on August 16 -
- Fort Smith wins national head-to-head online vote over Whitehorse -
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TORONTO, July 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Following a historic match-up featuring communities from the Northwest Territories and Yukon, Canadians have made Fort Smith, N.W.T. the first winner in this year's Kraft Celebration Tour - marking the first time the Tour will visit the Territories. As part of the Kraft Celebration Tour, Fort Smith will receive $25,000 to help their community get back on the ice after a fire damaged the Fort Smith Centennial Arena this past May.
Fort Smith will also host a special edition of SPORTSCENTRE featuring anchors Darren Dutchyshen and Jennifer Hedger when they kick start the tour with a live broadcast from the Northwest Territories on Friday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. ET on TSN.
<<MEDIA NOTE: Location and times for the Kraft Celebration Tour stop in Fort Smith, which includes a free BBQ and activities for all ages, will be confirmed shortly>>
"We were moved by Fort Smith's nomination and their resolve to rally together and rebuild the Fort Smith Centennial Arena. This is a fantastic example of what the Kraft Celebration Tour is all about," said Jack Hewitt, Vice-President, Marketing Insights and Services, Kraft Canada. "We're proud to help Fort Smith move forward and get their community back on the ice so that they can continue to be active in the sports they love."
"Dutchy and I are so pumped to visit the Northwest Territories this summer and meet the good people of Fort Smith," said Jennifer Hedger, SPORTSCENTRE anchor. "We can't wait to roll into town and host SPORTSCENTRE against the beautiful backdrop of Fort Smith - it'll be a great time and an unforgettable experience."
About Fort Smith, N.W.T.
Nestled in the boreal forest along the banks of the Slave River, Fort Smith was once the capital of the Northwest Territories. Today, Fort Smith is home to 2,500 people and is a gateway to Wood Buffalo National Park - the largest National Park in Canada.
Earlier this year, the Fort Smith Centennial Arena was damaged by a fire. Until the arena is repaired, a coalition of concerned citizens is looking to build a temporary outdoor rink to ensure local residents can get back to participating in figure skating, hockey, and speed skating.
Fort Smith was named to the Kraft Celebration Tour after winning a national, head-to-head online vote over Whitehorse. Fort Smith brought home the victory with 253,022 votes, while Whitehorse amassed a total of 35,566 votes in support of its nomination.
Voting
Canadians can decide the other winning communities for the Kraft Celebration Tour over the next two weeks. One pair of communities is featured each weekday through July 19, and Canadians can visit KraftCelebrationTour.ca or Tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca to vote for their favourite communities (see below for match-ups and scheduled voting dates). Voting is unlimited and runs from 12 noon ET each day for a 24-hour period.
During the voting period, SPORTSCENTRE on TSN and SPORTS 30 on RDS profile each match-up with a look at the duelling communities and their proposed community projects. Results of each vote will be announced the following weekday on SPORTSCENTRE and SPORTS 30.
The other communities selected as finalists for the Kraft Celebration Tour, along with their match-ups and scheduled voting dates, are as follows:
In addition to voting, fans can keep up with the Kraft Celebration Tour on social media by visiting and liking the Kraft Celebration Tour Fan Page on Facebook and by following and interacting with the tour's personalities on Twitter. The official Twitter account for the Kraft Celebration Tour is @KCTAndy and the official hashtags include #KCT and #tourneedecelebrationkraft.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Twitter
Kraft Celebration Tour: @KCTAndy, www.Twitter.com/KCTAndy
SPORTSCENTRE: @SportsCentre, www.Twitter.com/SportsCentre
Darren Dutchyshen: @dutchysc, www.Twitter.com/dutchysc
Jennifer Hedger: @jenniferhedger, www.Twitter.com/jenniferhedger
Rod Smith: @RodSmithTSN, www.Twitter.com/rodsmithtsn
Kate Beirness: @KateBeirness, www.Twitter.com/katebeirness
Marc Labrecque:@mlabrecqueRDS, www.Twitter.com/mlabrecqueRDS
Luc Bellemare: @lucbellemareRDS, www.Twitter.com/lucbellemareRDS
Valérie Sardin: @valsardinRDS, www.Twitter.com/valsardinRDS
Hashtags: #KCT and #tourneedecelebrationkraft
Facebook
Kraft Celebration Tour: www.Facebook.com/KraftCelebrationTour
TSN: www.Facebook.com/TSN
ABOUT KRAFT FOODS GROUP
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) is one of North America's largest consumer packaged food and beverage companies, with annual revenues of more than $18 billion. With the spirit of a startup and the soul of a powerhouse, Kraft has an unrivaled portfolio of products in the beverages, cheese, refrigerated meals and grocery categories. Its iconic brands include Kraft, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Velveeta, Capri Sun, JELL-O and Lunchables. Kraft's 23,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada have a passion for making the foods and beverages people love. Kraft is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 and the NASDAQ-100 indices. For more information, visit www.kraft.com and www.facebook.com/kraft.
About TSN
TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and #1 specialty network. With a broad portfolio of multimedia sports assets, TSN delivers world-class content across industry-leading platforms including TSN2, TSN.ca, TSN Radio and TSN Mobile TV. Official broadcaster of the Grey Cup, IIHF World Junior Championship and FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, TSN's slate of live sports coverage includes NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, Season of Champions Curling, UEFA Euro 2016, MLB Sunday Night Baseball, Barclays Premier League, Golf's Majors, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Canadian Tire Series, F1, Grand Slam Tennis, NCAA March Madness, and Skate Canada events. TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.
Image with caption: "SPORTSCENTRE anchors Jennifer Hedger and Darren Dutchyshen will host the Kraft Celebration Tour live from Fort Smith, N.W.T. on Friday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. ET on TSN. (CNW Group/TSN)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130709_C6481_PHOTO_EN_28910.jpg
SOURCE: TSN
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