Ek's note:
We are pleased to welcome Karine Hains to our writing team. Karine joins Hockeybuzz with in depth knowledge of all things Montreal and previous writing experience with Sportscardforum, Sportsology and RDS. In addition, she has two law degrees, one from Québec and one from England as she lived there for 8 years. During those years, she also took a course in freelance and feature writing with the London School of Journalism.
The Habs have a very dedicated fanbase and no one can argue with that fact. It’s probably why anything Habs related flies off the shelves in store or straight in your basket online. If you are a Montreal Canadiens’ fan and your friends and family know you well, chances are your birthday or Christmas presents always include something relating to your favorite team. Every year, I get my share of Habs goodies and one of my friend has a knack to find me new books to read about the team by the truckload. For the festive season in 2015, the book 100 Things Canadiens Fans Should Know and Do Before they Die landed under my Christmas tree. As always I rushed through the book and out of the 100 things, one caught my eye: Number 21 - Join a gang.
In a very short 2 pages, Pat Hickey tells a tale of how a group of strangers on a Canadiens message boards decided that they wanted to put a face to the usernames they were seeing online. In short, every year, this group would descend upon Montreal for a weekend of fun! As soon as I read it, I knew I had to try and get with those people. Thankfully, the book mentioned the name of the organizer; Ian Cobb. I looked him up, joined the message born and I was in, I was going to attend my first Hockey Inside/Out summit in Montreal in November 2016. This has now become an annual ritual to which I always look forward to and this year, it takes place on November 2 and 3. The group now has a Facebook page called Montreal Canadiens We Are Fans Summit and on it, Cobb invites people to spread the word and says that everyone is welcome to the event on Saturday afternoon so here goes Habs fans!
In August, the group got tickets to attend the November 3 match-up at the Bell Centre against the Tampa Bay Lightning but before the puck hits the ice, there are plenty of other activities planned. For starters, on Friday at 16:00 there’s a meet and greet at Hurley’s Irish Pub on Crescent Street (1225) on the third floor of the establishment and chances are, plenty of people will have also have dinner there (and probably quite a few more drinks). The next morning, there’s a group breakfast at Cora’s for all the Summit attendees who have their name tags (those who have registered in advance) then, at 11:00 the same group heads to the Bell Centre for a guided tour. Even though I’ve already been on the tour, I still enjoy the experience, it’s not everyday that you get to walk on the press gallery. But the main course of the even so to speak starts at 14:00 on the 2nd floor of the Best Western Europa Hotel (1240 Drummond). That’s where a charity raffle will be held with all proceeds going to the Montreal Canadiens’ Children Foundation. How does it work? Simple! Everyone who attends must bring a charity gift, people are then invited to buy tickets and the raffle is held. Your number comes out? You walk up to the gift table and take your pick amongst all the goodies that were brought. Simple isn’t it? When I first attended in 2016, I wasn't sure what kind of charity gift to bring so I brought a simple Habs hat...I wasn’t aware that some people were bringing some insane goodies! Every year, Réjean Houle attends and brings along a team-signed stick of the current line-up of the team, some also bring team jerseys, signed items or special one of a kind stuff. Tickets are sold $20 dollars each or 3 for $40. In 2016, I bought 3 tickets and maybe it was beginners’ luck but one of my numbers came out first so I walked away with the team-signed stick Houle had brought. Needless to say I was over the moon as a Habs collector! It’s also recommended to bring along a sharpie and something to get signed, Réjean Houle sometimes brings fellow alumni along...Chris Nilan has attended in the past and there might be a new attendee this year. This event wraps up at 16:00 and people have dinner before attending the game.
So there you have it Montreal Habs fans, if you’re looking for something new and fun to do on Saturday (November 3) afternoon, I highly suggest coming to the event with your charity gift in hand, buying some tickets and maybe you’ll strike gold! If you don’t, well, you will have done a good deed and helped the Children Foundation!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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