Cameras were flashing as the red carpet was rolled out at Mosaic Stadium for the premiere of the film A.R.C.H.I.E.
Normally it’s the stars of a movie that are VIP guests at a premiere, but on Saturday kids who go to Wascana Rehabilitation Centre or had prolonged stays in pediatric care received the star treatment.
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Ken Hobbans’ daughter, Paige, is turning six soon. She’s a healthy young girl now, but she spent the first five months of her life in intensive care.
“It’s wonderful to be here and get to share this, with Paige especially,” Ken Hobbans said.
Paige was born over 24 weeks premature, and only weighed 500 grams.
“She went through a lot and all I can say is, it’s the saints and the angels at the hospital. They took care of her,” Hobbans said.
It takes a lot of resources to take care of kids going through cancer treatment, continuing care, and many other procedures.
“Last year, we saw 2,000 in-patient children coming through. We had 5,000 children go through out-patient too. There’s a lot of need and it’s there every day,” said Dino Sophocleous, Hospitals of Regina Foundation (HRF) president and CEO.
The premiere raised $50,000 for HRF through ticket sales and other donations. Sophocleous said this will go toward funding the needs of pediatric care units.
A.R.C.H.I.E was primarily filmed in Lumsden and Regina Beach, Sask. It’s the story of a young girl who befriends a robotic dog named Archie, voiced by Michael J. Fox.