Rogers Hometown Hockey is coming back to the London area.
The six-month tour celebrates local hockey stories from 25 communities across the country and has a planned stop in southwestern Ontario in early November.
Strathroy-Caradoc will be the fifth stop on the tour, which will see Hometown Hockey come to the community for a live broadcast with hosts Ron MacLean and Tara Slone on Nov. 3.
“In a town like Strathroy, there’s a really remarkable hockey history that dates back generations,” said Greg McClinchey, chief administrative officer with the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc.
“It’s an opportunity for us to showcase not only our hockey history but the unique brand of hospitality that can be found in Strathroy-Caradoc.”
The free festival will feature a full weekend of live entertainment, NHL alumni and several hockey-themed activities, culminating with a live outdoor viewing party of an NHL broadcast on Nov. 3.
Slone is also scheduled to drop the puck prior to the Strathroy Rockets game on Saturday, Nov. 2.
“We have a number of current and former NHLers from here, a former NHL referee, and we had the first professional women’s hockey player from Strathroy just had her banner go up at one of our arenas,” said McClinchey, adding that there will be several hockey stories told during the broadcast.
“One involves a ring being discovered on the beaches of Hawaii from the Strathroy Rockets. There really is a lot of unique and interesting stories to be told, and wrapping that all into a weekend of festivities of celebrating hockey in general and all of the good parts about being Canadian that go along with that.”
McClinchey says the municipality is still working through the final details for the event, but it plans on closing the downtown area for the celebration.
“Have a good old-fashioned street party, hoping to have some street hockey set up,” he said.
“Whether you’re a hockey fan or you just like to have a good time, listen to great music and enjoy good food in the company of some really fun people — I think you find that every day in Strathroy, but you’re really going to see it there on Nov. 2 and 3.”
Rogers Hometown Hockey is no stranger to the area. The tour had a stop in London last year and in St. Thomas in 2017.
The Sunday game will feature live cut-ins from Strathroy during the faceoff between the Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames.
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