This will be the 14th year a central Alberta church will screen the Super Bowl.
Home Church, south of Red Deer on England Way, will host its annual tailgate party before showing the big game this Sunday.
The event offers people a “chance to come enjoy a football game and enjoy community,” said executive pastor Shawn Hamm.
The first Super Bowl party at the church was in 2007, following a “Guys Only Men’s Conference.”
About 200 men gathered to watch the matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. Prior to the game, 40 people played football in the snow.
Now, the alcohol-free, family-friendly event welcomes men, women and children 12 years old and up.
This year’s event is expected to host about 300 people, which is roughly the same number that attended the 2019 Super Bowl church viewing.
In addition to the game being shown on a big screen, there will be a catered buffet dinner, 75-plus door prizes, tailgate bingo, snacks and a silent auction.
“Honestly, I think it’s the best party in Alberta. We have a 20-by-18 projector screen,” said Hamm.
“The popularity (of the event) has grown really fast. That’s really because of the quality of the party. You’re not going to get a better screen or better sound system in all of central Alberta.”
Money raised in the silent auction will go towards Home Church’s Home of Hope program, which feeds more than 10,000 orphans in Africa and India.
“Home of Hope also provides things like micro-loans to single mothers … to help them start a business and help them become self-sustainable. It really breaks the cycle of poverty in a lot of situations with families that have lived in poverty for many years,” he said.
Tickets are available at the Home Church Red Deer office, or the church’s other locations in central Alberta, including Stettler, Sundre and Ponoka.
For more information, visit www.myhomechurch.ca/connect/events/biggame.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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