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June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day and the Winnipeg Goldeyes are doing something special to celebrate.
"We have an indigenous band playing on the promenade before the game. We have hoop dancers. Our anthem singer, Pamela, is awesome. And we're just celebrating the culture," said Dan Chase, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
This is the first time in several years that the Goldeyes have had a home game scheduled on National Indigenous Peoples Day, and Chase didn't want to miss it. "We haven't actually had a game scheduled on this particular day for a long time. When I saw that it was on our calendar this year, I reached out to sponsors, and Perimeter Air was very excited to become a part of this."
After months of planning, Chase is excited for the game and to celebrate the diversity of the community. "It's a celebration of culture. Our community is made up of a variety of cultures and we've celebrated as many as we can over the years. I come from a Ukrainian heritage. So we've done a Ukrainian night for many, many years and it's mixing it up and celebrating all those who make up our community."
June 21 also serves as an opportunity for the Winnipeg Goldeyes to host families who have been impacted by the Manitoba wildfires.
"Our good friends at Manitoba Blue Cross came to us and said, 'What can we do for the folks who are displaced? Is there anything that we can do to assist?' So they are donating tickets and snack vouchers for food. They're even arranging buses for folks to come down to the game so that they don't have to worry about that and just get away from the awful situation that's happening in our province and enjoy a Goldeyes game."
Chase is looking forward to seeing how the community comes together for National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.
The Goldeyes will be taking on the Sioux City Explorers at 6 p.m. at Blue Cross Park. Tickets can be purchased here.