Smashfest 2014 – Ping-Pong Tournament With NHL Players & Celebrities (Charity Event)

Yesterday evening, me and my crew attended and covered one of the hottest events of the summer called Smashfest. This was the third year Smashfest had been running and it will continue to get bigger and better every year. Smashfest is an exclusive party that brings together NHL stars and other celebrities for a ping-pong themed night in downtown Toronto, being held at Steam Whistle Brewery’s historic Roundhouse.

Guests who paid for the tickets got to mix and mingle with a number of past and present NHL players. Foods, wine and SteamWhistle beer were provided throughout the night. Some selected lucky guests also got to play in a ping-pong tournament with the NHL players, playing to win the Smashfest Trophy. Defending champion, Minnesota Wild Stephane Veilleux defended his title again against Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows. Smashfest was hosted and organized by New York Rangers, Dominic Moore who wanted to raise awarenss and funding to support two very important causes: concussion, as well as rare cancer research.

For more information about Smashfest and how you can purchase tickets for next year, click here!

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Below are photos that my crew had taken during yetersday’s Smashfest event:

Photo Credit: Jensen Adam Lee

Easter Seals – 63rd Annual Rogers Conn Smythe Sports Celebrity Dinner

 

The 63rd Annual Rogers Conn Smythe Sports Celebrity Dinner and Auction took place on Thursday, February 27th, 2014 at the Toronto’s famous Royal York Hotel. They had a list of solid 2014 Celebrity Guests who gave their valuable time and gave back to the communities in support of this special charitable event. In fact, some of these celebrities such as all-time Blue Jays great, Carlos Delgado, specifically flew in Toronto so he could be part of this special occasion. The list of celebrity guests include Carlos Delgado (Baseball Player), Geraldine Heaney (Hockey Player), James Hinchcliffe (Indy Car Race Car Driver), Perdita Felicien (Hurdler), Dave Stewart (Baseball Player), Scott Milanovich (CFL Coach), Gary Roberts (Hockey Player), Matt Hughes (Martial Artist), Stefan Charles (NFL Player), and Natalie Spooner (Female Gold Olympian). This year’s dinner host was Gerry Dee!

Special thanks to the Easter Seals Committee for the invitation and our crew and I attended the media conference where I got to interview some of these celebrities as well as the Easter Seals Ambassadors about being part of this great charitable organizations and the meaning of giving back and in support of the youth and young adults in Ontario with a physical disability.

Stay tuned for my later publications on the interviews I had with some of these celebrities!

Here are the photos we took at the Media Conference and photos of my interviews with these celebrities:

Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics – Are you ready?

Time flies! 4 years ago, I was in Vancouver watching some of the Olympics in person and partying on the streets in person.

Now, Sochi 2014 is just a month away! Team Canada Men’s Hockey announced today!

Winter Olympics in Russia, are you ready?

Team Canada Men’s Hockey Announced Today

 

Today, Team Canada Men’s Hockey Olympics Committee announced its 25-man roster!

Flashback 4 years ago when I was in Vancouver to party and also witness some of these amazing Olympics games in person was a great memory of my lifetime!

Sochi 2014 is just around the corner, time flies! Are you ready Canadian fans?

Click here to check out the entire 25-man Team Canada roster.

Below are some of the returnees of 2010 Vancouver Olympics, they are back to the roster going for more medals!

36th Annual Easter Seals Leafs Charity Skate

The Toronto Maple Leafs Skate for Easter Seals Kids is a fundraising event that offers fans the opportunity to skate with the Toronto Maple Leafs in support of Ontario’s kids with physical disabilities. Individuals must raise a minimum of $125 in pledges in order to participate. And, if you just want to watch, spectator tickets are available at $30. This event is a shining example of ‘kids helping kids.

The skate took place at the Leafs Practice Facility at the MasterCard Centre and I got to interview Leafs #24 Peter Holland and #29 Jerry D’Amigo and an Easter Seals Representative about this 36th Charity Event.I took photos from Leafs Goalie, #34 James Reimer and autographs which I will donate for Charity!This marks the first time I did my “MoVernie on the MOVE” on the ice with my skates on!

For more information for next year’s Easter Seals Skate, click here for details,www.EasterSealsSkate.org

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Hockey Hall of Fame – Toronto

Do you like hockey? As you know, hockey is a popular past-time sport in Canada. Hockey Hall of Fame is located at the heart of the Toronto downtown core, just a few blocks from the Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Today, I decided to check out the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF). The last time I visited HHOF was 4 years ago after my vacation to Vancouver during the Winter Olympics. I still remembered the precious “Lucky Toonie” that won us the men’s hockey gold medal with the famous overtime goal scored by Sidney Crosby.

Although HHOF isn’t a super big place but it has multi-levels of exhibits that are very interesting. I learned more about the history and the legends of the game with their displays and their biographies, etc. I got to check out the various NHL trophies that were given out every year to the top NHL performers! I even posed a photo with the Stanley Cup trophy. There was also a replica of the Montreal Canadiens locker room, featuring some of the all-time Habs players such as Bob Gainey, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy, etc.

I also got to test out my NHL knowledge with their computerized trivia games that I could have a friendly competition among my friends. If you want to test out your hockey skills, they had stimulation goalie and slapshot games that you can showoff your skills. There were 3 different hockey levels: Rookie, Pro and All-Star levels. I opted for the all-star level and I did quite well, making 4 out of 5 possible saves in the stimulation game.

Also remember to check out it’s latest Hockey Hall of Fame Film called “Stanley’s Game Seven – 3D” which combines a stunning mix of original live action, computer generated 3D animation, and classic archival footage of some of the most renowned playoff moments in Stanley Cup history.

Since I have my own MoVernie on the MOVE show, testing out my play-by-play hockey game calling at the TSN Broadcast section would be fun. They had a number of short video clips that showed some of the highlighted hockey moments. I chose a few of them and made some voice-over clips. Although I held my own and did a decent job in the game calling, but trust me, it ain’t easy to call the entire game. Mad respect to those talented play-by-play announcers around the nation.

I enjoyed my time at the Hockey Hall of Fame and would highly recommend my followers to visit it the next time you travel to Toronto.

For more information about the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF), please click here.

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Leafs vs Sharks – My First Volunteer Experience at the MapleLeafs Game

 

I have gone to the Leafs games or Raptors games mulitple of times but this was definitely my first time volunteering for the 50/50 Draw program. I wanted to do it and wanted to experience the game in a different perspective. I donated my time and worked hard to get people to buy 50/50 Draw Tickets. Stay tuned for my in-depth blog about my volunteer experience. For now, let’s enjoy the photos that I took at the game and on this night, we raised $20,000+. Half of it went to the lucky winner and the rest went to the Kid Sport Foundation.

KidSport™ Canada is a national not-for-profit organization that provides financial assistance for registration fees and equipment to kids aged 18 and under. Although the Leafs lost to the San Jose Sharks by a score of 4-2, it was a night that I donated my time and worked very hard to sell tickets. I kind of lost my voice as I need to utilize my loud voice to get people attention to buy 50/50 tickets. It was well-worth it, all for the charity and for a great cause.

Check out the MoVernie Photos below:

MoVernie Behind-the-Scenes – Covering SmashFest

I had tons of fun at the SmashFest that was held at SteamWhistle last Thursday. It was one of the best events that I had covered for my videos and blogs.

You see, in other events, we maybe limited to 30 minutes of media time and there usually won’t be one-on-one interview time either. But Dominic Moore SmashFest was quite different. It would start off with a media scrum, followed by one-on-one interview time with various NHL players. They are all in a good mood and in charity mood, it made my interviews much more easier.

I had interviewed players such as Dominic Moore (Host), Phil Kessel, David Clarkson, Martin St. Louis, Cody Hodgson, Logan Couture and much much more during SmashFest.

Check out my photos with them below. It was indeed a fun night for a good cause. Special thanks to the organizers, PRs and staff and Dominic Moore for having me to cover this amazing event. See you next year!

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MoVernie with Leafs Phil Kessel

MoVernie with Lightning Martin St. Louis

MoVernie with Sabres Cody Hodgson

MoVernie with SmashFest Host Dominic Moore

MoVernie with 2 fans that love & watch his MoVernie on the Move Show

MoVernie in the media scrum action interviewing Martin St. Louis

MoVernie in the media scrum action interviewing Phil Kessel

MoVernie in the media scrum action interviewing Logan Couture

MoVernie posing with Flames, Matt Stajan

SmashFest Dominic Moore Charity Ping-Pong Tourament

Last Thursday, it was the 2nd annual SmashFest that was held at SteamWhistle Brewery. It was hosted by NHL player, Dominic Moore, who wants to organize this special event to raise awareness on Concussion Research and Rare Cancer Research. In the first year of SmashFest, the objective was to raise money for concussion research. But in this second year, Dominic Moore also wants to raise awareness to rare cancer because his wife, Katie Moore passed away due to a rare form of cancer. Thus, he founded the Katie Moore Foundation.

The night went quite well as NHL players such as Phil Kessel, David Clarkson, Logan Couture, Martin St. Louis, Kevin Weekes, George Parros, Cody Hodgson and many more were on hand to show their support to Dominic’s charity but also a chance to mix and mingle with fans, thanking them for their donation and support for such a great cause.

All-in-all, over $100,000 raised for concussion research and cancer research via Katie Moore Foundation. This was a great success! Everyone had a great time and it allows fans to see the ping-pong skills from the various NHL players. Stephane Veilleux was the ping-pong champ!

See you next year! For more information on how to make donations to the Katie Moore Foundation and ticket information for next year’s SmashFest, click here.

Cody Hodgson showing his ping pong skills

MoVernie covering SmashFest

SmashFest 2013

Autographed puck by Logan Couture & Martin St. Louis