@movernie
On Thursday, July 25th, 2019 (just a few weeks away), Smashfest, a charitable ping-pong challenge event will be held at Steamwhistle Brewery. It’s an annual event entering its 8th season in Toronto, Canada. It’s an evening filled with fun, entertainment, good food & drinks and the chance to hang out with current and past NHL players from various NHL teams.
This event is open to the public and all you need to do is purchase your ticket. There are a number of ticket packages that you can choose from, but regular ticket price starts at $250 CDN (click here for more ticket INFO).
I know some of you may say, “Hmmmm….$250 CDN isn’t cheap, is it worth my $ to attend this event? What’s it’s like at Smashfest? With so many charitable events happening around the city, why should I choose to support Smashfest over others?“.
Well….there are many reasons why Smashfest is the charitable event that you should support and purchase ticket and below are my reasons.
Reasons #1: It’s for the charity!
Your ticket purchase goes toward fundraising money for rare cancer and concussion medical research. You feel good about giving back to the communities.
Reason #2: A fun night filled with entertainment
Spending a nice summer evening at Smashfest, where you get open bar, catered buffet food, a chance to be selected to participate at the ping-pong challenge. Even if you are not selected, it’s super entertaining to watch other lucky participants pairing with NHL players in the challenge. Live DJ Music and staring up in the sky and see our iconic CN Tower are fun!
Reason #3: Hang out with NHL players
How often do you get a chance to hang out with NHL players in a relax setting? In many other events, you possibly wait in line for a few hours, only get to spend 5-10 seconds to take a photo and getting an autograph with your favourite NHL players. If you get lucky, you may get to say a few words with them and then the security will ask you to leave the autograph table or the players finished their appearances and leave the event or stay inside the VIP booths.
But not at Smashfest, the beauty about Smashfest is that…..the vibe is so relax, the players are so chill. You can talk to them, hang out with them, take a selfie or get their autographs. The entire event is like 3+ hours, you don’t have to rush, you can take your time with each and everyone of them. In other events, you may possibly only get to meet 1 or 2 players, but at Smashfest, it’s over 20+ of them around the entire venue.
The best part? A lot of events, you only get to meet players who play for the Toronto Maple Leafs but at Smashfest, you get to meet players from other NHL teams. To me, it’s a rare opportunity. I met Tyler Seguin from the Dallas Stars a few years back. I interviewed Tyler Hall from the New Jersey Devils. Jeff Skinner from the Buffalo Sabres and many more.
Long lineup of paying guests getting Tuesday to come into #SmashfestVII. Beer, wine, food & ping pong awaits them.#smashfest #mosmash #pingpong #charity pic.twitter.com/AvFNqAZDzp
— Vernon Chang (@MoVernie) August 2, 2018
Reason #4: Open bar and catered food
At Smashfest, not only you are able to hang out with many NHL players, but it is open bar. Since the venue space is at Steamwhistle Brewery, they serve you unlimited Steamwhistle beer. And when you get hungry, there are catered buffet stations to fill you tummy. The perogies and poutine, just to name a few from previous years were delicious.
You can enjoy a great night of food & drinks. However, make sure you drink and eat responsibly. With open bar, drink responsibly and you may want to take an Uber/Lyft or public transit home.
There you have it! Buying tickets to attend Smashfest has many good reasons and its benefits. You get to spend a good evening with your friends and hanging out with the NHL players, feeling good about giving back to the communities and supporting a reputable charitable organization that really know how to strategize and utilize the funding to maximize the medical research efforts.
I had so much fun covering this event every single year and seeing it grows bigger and better each year and seeing the increase of funding it receives makes everyone’s smile.
For more INFO about Smashfest, click here.
Smashfest VII – Thursday, July 25, 2019
Website: Smashfest.ca
Venue: Steamwhistle Brewery
Address: 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3M9
Phone: (416) 362-2337
Want to know more about my experience and adventures at Smashfest? Follow my journey on Instagram (@RealMoVernie) and Twitter (@MoVernie).
My experiences and visits at past Smashfest events were provided by Smashfest and NHLPA. However, as always, the opinions expressed in this post is entirely my own.
