The 2009 Grey Cup Festival along with community sponsor Calgary Downtown Association are thrilled to announce the introduction of a new concept to the Grey Cup festival this year, with the addition of the First Down(town) Food Fest dining program.
“We are extremely excited about sponsoring and bringing a new dining program to the Grey Cup Festival this year,” said Maggie Schofield, Executive Director, Calgary Downtown Association. “The Grey Cup festivities traditionally leave most of the Grey Cup patrons with limited dining options year to year, but we felt this year it was important to integrate our downtown restaurants into the week long Grey Cup Festival celebrations. Calgary has internationally recognized restaurants and what better way to showcase these to the Grey Cup guests in our fine city.”
The First Down(town) Food Fest kicks off Sunday, November 22 and will occur all week long leading up to the Grey Cup Championship November 29th. Patrons can explore a week of Grey Cup-inspired dining experiences with preset lunch ($15), dinner ($25) and gourmet ($85) menus at participating downtown restaurants by logging onto www.2009greycupfestival.com and selecting their restaurant.
“The Grey Cup Festival to our knowledge has never incorporated a dining program during the week long festivities and we felt it gave our patrons some different choices to get out and experience what these downtown Calgary establishments have to offer,” said Greg Albrecht, President of the 2009 Grey Cup Festival. “Our organizing committee has introduced some interesting new events to the Grey Cup Festival this year and we hope some of these events including this dining program are a huge success and are incorporated into the planning for future Grey Cup Festivals”.
The response from the downtown Calgary establishments has been outstanding with over 30 restaurants and pubs offering Grey Cup inspired menu options for the First Down(town) Food Fest. For more information on menus and reservation details visit www.2009greycupfestival.com.
2009 GREY CUP FESTIVAL Schedule of Events
| November 26th | Grey Cup Festival Kick Off | |
| November 26th | Gibsons Finest CFL Player Awards | Calgary TELUS Convention Centre |
| November 27th – 29th | ENMAX Street Festival | Stephen Avenue Mall (8th Ave) |
| November 27th – 29th | Olympic Plaza Family Fan Fest | Olympic Plaza |
| November 27th – 29th | SCOTIABANK CFL Experience | Calgary TELUS Convention Centre |
| November 27th – 28th | ENMAX Illuminate Calgary | Stephen Avenue Mall (8th Ave) |
| November 27th – 29th | MOLSON CANADIAN Quick Six Saloon | Calgary TELUS Convention Centre |
| November 28th | CANADA SAFEWAY Grey Cup Festival Parade | Downtown Calgary - 9th Ave |
| November 28th | SCOTIABANK Grey Cup Gala & Concert | Saddledome |
| November 29th | McMahon Stadium Pre-Game Party | McMahon Stadium |
| November 29th | 97th Grey Cup Championship | McMahon Stadium |
The 2009 Grey Cup Festival, “Canada’s Game Calgary’s Party”, will be distinctly Canadian and showcase Calgary’s famous western hospitality. For tickets and more event information log onto www.2009greycupfestival.com.
For media requests, please contact:
Sheldon Lachambre
Director of Marketing and Media Relations
2009 Grey Cup Festival
403.777.3304
slachambre@2009greycupfestival.com