Only a few hours remain before residents in Mackenzie will know if their town is the next Kraft Hockeyville.
The town, 175 km north of Prince George, is facing off against Conception Bay South, Nfld.; St. Raymond, Que.; Wolfe Island, Ont.; and Bently, Alta. for the title.
The winner will be announced live on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada during the Edmonton at Vancouver game. The game starts at 7 p.m. and the announcement will be made during the first intermission.
"It's been pretty phenomenal," Mackenzie Hockeyville organizer Steve Rooke said. "Everybody here is having a great time."
CBC will be broadcasting live from each of the five finalist communities.
Rooke said a day of events has been planned leading up to the announcement.
"We've had some hockey clinics. Russ Courtnall, an NHL alumni, is on the ice skating with the kids," Rooke said. "We had a parade through town that was pretty amazing. This evening our main event is the Fort Ware Kwadacha First Nation [hockey team] verses some of our gentlemen's league players."
In additional there is live music, road hockey and other entertainment happening throughout town today, Rooke said.
"We've got at least 500 people in town now through the various venues," he said. "Everything's happening in the spirit square and arena."
The winning town will receive $100,000 to upgrade an arena and will host an NHL preseason game. If Mackenzie wins, it plans an upgrade to the Alan Sheppard Arena.
In the semifinal round of the Hockeyville competition, Mackenzie took second place behind Conception Bay South.
Mackenzie was hard-hit by the downturn in the forestry sector in 2008. Mill closures put as many as 1,600 workers out of a job in the town of 4,500 people.
The Hockeyville campaign has been a rallying point for the recovering community.
"I'm pretty confident and proud of what the town has done," Rooke said. "The rest is just extra."
