By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19) via RDNewsNOW

Canada Winter Games opening ceremony to include pomp and spark of Olympics-style show

Feb 15, 2019 | 6:12 AM

RED DEER, AB – If you’ve got a ticket to Friday night’s opening ceremony for the 2019 Canada Winter Games, prepare to be wowed.

The show at the Westerner Park Centrium will feature more than 600 performers, nearly all of whom are from the Red Deer area. The show is also backed by a 200-person crew, as well a volunteer cohort somewhere between 200 and 300, and that’s not to mention the 100 technical crew members and national television crew.

“It’s going to feel like an Olympics opening ceremony. We’ve got the pageantry, the pomp and the ceremony, the flag and the torch – all those great moments people remember from a ceremony like this,” says Patrick Roberge, the show’s producer, who’s now working on his sixth set of Canada Games ceremonies.

“What’s really going to be the difference is you’re going to see the community, you’re going to know we’re in Red Deer, and you’re going to see the hospitality and enthusiasm for these Games really shine.”

Roberge, who notes rehearsals have been ongoing for six months, says the overarching theme of the show is how Red Deer came together to stage this national event.

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“What people are going to walk away with is the fact they were here, that they shared a moment in time,” he adds. “No matter what, I want people to walk out the door and go ‘I’m so glad I was in the room that day when they celebrated the opening of The Games.’ That’s what we want everyone across Canada to feel.”

Also a big part of the show will be Flat Lake, Alberta’s own Brett Kissel.

“It’s a big circus that’s rolled into town and we’re all going to come together to put on a great show, and we have some fun moments planned,” says Roberge. “It’s not all serious.”