Creston hit the national airwaves in a live TSN broadcast yesterday afternoon — part of winning the Kraft Celebration Tour — and the organizers couldn’t be happier.
“I’m so excited not only for Creston and the Creston Valley, but the Kootenays,” said Myrna Johnson, the driving force behind the campaign to see Creston host the tour (photos here) and SportsCentre broadcast (photos here). “All of Canada gets to see what we get to see every day, and they can see our pride and support.”
Johnson had entered Creston in several national contests before, including the 2011 Kraft Celebration Tour, but this was the first win, which saw the Creston and District Society for Community Living’s Therapeutic Riding Program (TRP) win $25,000. In a co-ordinated 24-hour effort, Creston voters beat the Kimberley Nordic Club by more than 30,000 online votes, with more than 171,000 being cast.
A large crowd enjoyed free samples of Kraft products on the field at the Creston and District Community Complex (CDCC), then headed up to the parking lot, where a portable TSN stage was set up to air SportsCentre, which featured a segment (watch it on TSN's website) on five-year-old TRP rider Alexis Folk, with hosts Darren Dutchyshen and Kate Beirness from 3-4 p.m.
The afternoon went off without a hitch, thanks to the efforts of about 125 volunteers.
“If it wasn’t for volunteers, this wouldn’t happen,” said Johnson, shrugging off credit for the event. “You can be a driving force, but if there aren’t people there t support you, it’s not going to work.”
“The scariest thing was when I showed up at the volunteer orientation meeting yesterday and the room was packed,” said TRP co-ordinator Michelle Whiteaway.
The TSN team arrived in Creston on Thursday, giving the hosts and crew a chance to tour the area — in Dutchyshen and Beirness’s case, from a helicopter in their first-ever helicopter ride. The live broadcast of the sports news show included a segment on the TRP, giving the country a good look at the Creston program, one of only a few like it in the Kootenays.
Since winning the contest a few weeks ago, Whiteaway said the publicity has greatly increased local awareness of the program that runs at 849 Erickson Rd.
“They come up and say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you guys were down there,’ ” she said.
In addition to the many volunteers, Whiteaway specifically acknowledged the contributions of Creston Mayor Ron Toyota, CDCC manager Randy Fediuk and recreation supervisor Neil Ostafichuk, Kathy Tompkins at the College of the Rockies, Overwaitea Foods and, of course, Johnson.
“They pulled everything out for this, absolutely everything,” she said.
Johnson is proud of the community’s effort to make the event a success, and hopes it will have a great impact in the future.
“I think a lot of positive things are going to come out of this for everybody,” she said.