Morris is pleased to be a bronze sponsor and part of the largest event in the history of Canada-Kazakhstan bilateral relations, and to help support the development of amateur hockey for underprivileged children in Kazakhstan.
The event includes a massive Canadian pancake breakfast on the morning of May 21, 2017, at Barys Arena, serving over 1,000 pancakes with Canadian maple syrup. That same morning the opening the Hockey Hall of Fame exhibition in the Kazakhstan Hockey Museum, will also take place at Barys Arena.
The Hockey Hall of Fame exhibition, flown in from Toronto especially for this event, will showcase fantastic memorabilia from Kazakhstani hockey legends and Canadian hockey stars, including some currently playing in Kazakhstan.
During the day at Barys Arena, a series of events will be held on the ice, including training clinics by the Paralympic gold-medal winning Sledge Hockey star, Billy Bridges, and as well as by Sami Jo Small, Team Canada’s Olympic gold-medalist goaltender. Auction winners from the May 20 Gala Dinner will have an opportunity to learn new skills from international hockey legends.
To wrap up these clinics and scrimmages, we will be treated to a concert by The Sheepdogs. The only independent band to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, the award-winning Sheepdogs will put on a great live music concert in the lead-up to our feature event: The Heritage Cup match.
To kick-off the Heritage Cup match, internationally-acclaimed projection artist, Sean Nieuwenhuis (Stratford, The Met, Broadway), will present an opening on-ice projection show. The Heritage Match itself will feature a plethora of hockey legends: stars such as Igor Larionov, Sergei Nemchinov, Sami Jo Small, Brian Propp, and Billy Bridges, amongst other celebrities. The end of the match will culminate in the presentation of the Heritage Cup. Custom made by the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) as a legacy piece for Kazakhstan, the Heritage Cup will be presented by none-other than the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Philip “Keeper of the Stanley Cup” Prichard.
All of the big names at the Heritage Cup will be in attendance at the May 20 Gala Dinner. Hosted at the Marriott Hotel, the Gala Dinner will serve the best of Canadian cuisine, featuring: locally-sourced Canadian products; Wayne Gretzky’s signature wine; and, a speech by The Honourable Ken Dryden, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and internationally-acclaimed hockey all-star. As mentioned, an auction will also be held at the Gala Dinner featuring memorabilia and experiences, including an hour on ice with a hockey celebrity, and an autographed photo of Wayne Gretzky.
