2011 was an exciting year for PRP and it was capped off by moving into our new office/studio/warehouse. Our new space on the south side of Vancouver has given us the opportunity to consolidate all our operations and bring everything and everyone under one roof. Until we moved in we did not really realize how liberating it would be to have the new space. We look forward to conceiving and working on many great projects out of our new home for many years.

Once again in 2011 we had the opportunity to work with many great people. It’s what keeps things interesting in what we do every day. It is obviously the key to the success of our productions. Our year began in Halifax with many great musicians on the Canada Games including Jimmy Rankin, the Trews, Chantal Kreviazuk, the Stanfields and Old Man Luedeke.

Over the year we worked with a wide range of politicians including the Prime Minister (a few times), the Lieutenant Governor’s of Nova Scotia, BC and Ontario, Premier Dexter from Nova Scotia, Premier Clark from BC and the Mayors of Halifax and Vancouver.

We also had the opportunity to reconnect with some of our favourite Canadian athletes; Steve Nash, the Courtnall Brothers, Lui Passaglia, Catriona LeMay Doan, Bobby Lenarduzzi and Rick Hansen.

We were fortunate to have some of the best Canadian hosts/MC’s for our events including Ron MacLean, Chris Gailus, Ben Mulroney and Michael Landsberg. We feel spoiled having these gentleman on some of our events this year. As well as these hosts we had the pleasure of welcoming some unique and varied actors to our events such as Corey Monteith, Gene Simmons, Candace Cameron-Bure, Gena Lee Nolin, Bridget Mendler and Shannon Tweed.

Of course, as usual, many great musical artists were on our stages this year including Don Felder from the Eagles, Alan Frew from Glass Tiger, Chris Isaak, Kenny Rogers, Donny Osmond, Wilson Philips, Hall and Oates, Sarah Mclachlan, Jann Arden, Hey Ocean, Arkells, Air Supply and Aaron Pritchett.

As we look back on the year it’s amazing how many different people we worked with that were both on our stages and behind the scenes. It’s never a dull moment with all these people. In addition to the folks we did work with there were some people we ‘almost’ worked with but for various reasons did not including Sidney Crosby, David Beckham, Cheap Trick, Miranda Cosgrove and Lord Stanley.

We are looking forward to 2012 and all the people we will work with.

Below are a selection of ‘Behind the Scenes’ photos from Grey Cup 2011. Most were taken by Raeanne Schachter. Most of the shots show us ‘working’ AND having fun. Generally, she did not get photos of the ‘tough’ times.

Michael planning cauldron lighting

Stephanie, Corey & Manpreet

Just a bit of what was stored

Field Painting

Jocelyn working her Choreographic Magic

Nicole groovin' to Arkells

Thumbs Up!

Marcia and Angela checking the plans

Candid shot of Patrick and Jann

All smiles

Briefing the Arkells crew

Nik staying out of the limelight

Planning a prank?!?

It's over!

Some final thoughts on the 99th Grey Cup. This year we had the pleasure of having the festivities in our home city. This is both a blessing and a curse. As nice as it is to crawl into your own bed at night, it also means you deal with the rest of your life in the midst of a whirlwind of activities. When you are on the road your only focus is the job at hand. Last year we braved the elements of Edmonton to produce the Entertainment for the Game, this year we produced many more events.

Once again we braved the elements. This year it was not the minus thirty degrees of Alberta. Instead we faced a torrential Pacific storm as we were in the midst of loading in the Nissan Family FanZone at Jack Poole Plaza. Luckily, the weather brightened for Friday and the cauldron was lit under sunny skies. Michael led the charge at the FanZone and with his team entertained families all weekend with great performers such as Bobs and Lolo and Taptastic. They were also slated to host the CFL Cheerfest but due to the deluge on Saturday it was cancelled (much to Michael’s disappointment). Michael did have the advantage of having his production office right in the heart of the Grey Cup HQ so it turned out to be the meeting place as we made forays out of the Stadium to check out Riderville and the Molson House. It is great to take some time during an event like this to visit other events and meet up with all our friends and colleagues on working on other projects. It was not dissimilar to the Olympics but on a smaller scale.

Back in 2005, when we produced the Grey Cup Parade we had cool clear crisp weather. That was not the case this year. As we awoke Saturday (very early) the rains had returned. Heather and her team’s spirits were not dampened. The energy amongst the staff, volunteers, participants and crowd was fabulous. As I was at the start of the route, I really got a sense of what the CFL Grey Cup week is all about. It is a time for football fans to be proud Canadians and cheer on their teams and reconnect with old friends. Having Dal Richards, Rick Hansen, the Military, many CFL alumni, 3000 other participants and of course Parade Marshall, Corey Monteith  entertain the crowds was amazing.

Sunday morning saw us produce the CFL Commissioner’s Brunch. This event is always a hot ticket. From all reports Michael Landsberg was on fire and had fun with the the Commissioner and the CFL Football panel. Jann Arden was on hand to entertain and after her performance rushed over to BC Place with Colleen to get ready to sing the Anthem.

This year’s Halftime Show (like any project) had certain challenges. Our timeline with working with Nickelback was tight but their entire group was so professional and attentive that we really had no issues. Also, working within a venue that is still fairly new also had it’s challenges. We worked with BC Place to determine how to best utilize building systems and the space requirements to put on a large scale Half-time show. Marcia and Diane and their team put in countless hours in the venue. We essentially had teams working around the clock from Wednesday morning to Friday morning to get things ready before the Vanier Cup. Marcia and I had the pleasure of assisting the Vanier Cup with their Awards stage and thus had the opportunity to witness a classic game on Friday night.

Saturday turned out to be a very long day with the Parade, FanZone, and full band rehearsals at BC Place in quick succession. Some of our team such as Jocelyn, Dan, Heather, Nicole, Jordan and Patrick found themselves spread all over the downtown core all weekend working on multiple events. The pay off for all of us was when the events for the Game went off so well. We are already looking forward to working with the CFL again for the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto.

The CFL just announced the band for the upcoming Grey Cup.

PRP is very excited to be working with the CFL to produce the 1/2 time show for the upcoming 99th Grey Cup.  We are delighted to be working with Nickelback !

(CFL) - Canada’s own international multi-platinum selling rock band Nickelback will rock the Pepsi MAX Half-Time Show at the 99th Grey Cup November 27th on TSN and RDS.

“For proud Canadians like us, it’s an honour to share the stage with the best teams in the league going head to head for the Grey Cup,” said band frontman Chad Kroeger.

Originally from Hanna, Alberta, the band’s members - Chad and his brother Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake, and Daniel Adair - are honoured to be a part of the action at the pinnacle of the CFL season.

Continues Kroeger, “with Nickelback based in Vancouver, and the game at BC Place, this is a home game for us, and we can’t wait to play.”

News the band will play the Grey Cup was announced Friday on TSN and RDS2 during the game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Nickelback’s new album, Here and Now, featuring the singles “When We Stand Together” and “Bottoms Up”, is set for release November 21st and available for pre-order at iTunes.

“Pepsi MAX is thrilled to partner with Nickelback to bring CFL fans across Canada a phenomenal show. It will be a great chance for fans to kick-back and enjoy an ice-cold, zero calorie beverage with maximum Pepsi taste”, said Greg Lyons, Vice-President Marketing, PepsiCo Beverages Canada.

This year’s Grey Cup will be played at the beautifully refurbished BC Place Stadium, which has added a new retractable roof as part of a $458 million transformation.

“The Grey Cup is a Canadian jewel, BC Place is a world class setting for it, and Nickelback is the perfect half-time act for the occasion: a band that’s proudly Canadian and recognized as an international success,” said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League.

“I know the fans who make the pilgrimage to Grey Cup this year, and the millions of Canadians who join them for the party  through TSN and RDS, are going to love the Pepsi MAX half-time show.”

One of the most prolific and concert ticket selling bands of the past decade throughout North America and the world, Nickelback has released single after chart topping single, such as “How You Remind Me”, “Someday”, “Photograph”,  “Rockstar”,  “Far Away”, and “Savin’ Me.”

Everyone at PRP would like to congratulate our colleague Rob Waloschuk on his big win.

We have enjoyed working with Rob for several years on producing the Motorsport Attractions at the PNE Fair in Vancouver.   Way to go Rob.

Nashville, TN – Dauphin’s Countryfest Promoter Rob Waloschuk has received the International Entertainment Buyer of the Year Award at the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Waloschuk, who has been working with Countryfest and managing the programming for 21 years, attended the 41^st annual conference and was presented with the honour on Tuesday, October 4th.  Over 500 of the live entertainment industry’s top decision makers converge in Nashville every year for the IEBA conference.  The International Entertainment Buyer Award is voted on by these IEBA members.

What do Pope John Paul II, Bob Hope, Madonna, the Aga Khan,  and Princess Diana have in common? They all have ‘performed’ at BC Place Stadium.

PRP has had a long history of working at BC Place. Some (or all of us) have been involved since Expo 86 and also have worked on events such as Winterfest, World Curling Championships, numerous rock concerts (Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, U2), Steve Fonyo and Rick Hansen’s return to Vancouver, many BC Lions games and Grey Cups.

This past weekend saw the Re-Opening of BC Place Stadium for both the BC Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps. We were privileged to be involved with both events. It seemed like a long time ago as we were ‘Closing’ the building with the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Opening Ceremonies. The changes are extraordinary. The building really is state of the art. Chris Schultz from TSN wrote an excellent article putting the Stadium into context http://tsn.ca/columnists/chris_schultz/?id=377342. All that being said there are were many challenges to produce events within a construction site on a definite time line. Compromises were made and a lot was learned for future events. I suspect the biggest challenge will be the upkeep on all the technology now in place but if that can be met Vancouver truly has an amazing facility that we are looking forward to working in this Fall and beyond.

It is an exciting time for Winter Haven as LEGOLAND Florida is set to open in two weeks. Merlin Entertainment has taken the bold move of re-developing the former site of Cypress Gardens in a depressed economy and by what I have seen a depressed region. The Park looks amazing and I believe it will be a real Central Florida destination. For the under 12 year olds this should be a must visit. It really is not that far from Orlando or Tampa. However, the drive from the Magic Kingdom will be a real eye opener for some. It is difficult to explain how bleak some of the areas are. It certainly is not palm trees and boulevards. There are many shut down businesses and bleak strip malls. Inexplicably, the businesses that seem to thrive are Nail salons and Mattress shops?!! You cannot drive very far without seeing one or the other or both. On the extreme other end it is very far between Starbucks or other coffee houses. This obviously speaks to the spending ability in the region. LEGOLAND seems to have been very strategic in giving extreme discounts and passes to the local community. As we went out to a movie in the local theater on a Saturday night we were struck by how empty it was and deserted the neighbourhood was. It looks like the ‘modern’ theater was built 10 years ago and has not been maintained at all. The way it looked I can’t imagine it being open for many more years. It will then join the host of empty parking lots. All in all quite sad. I really do hope LEGOLAND at least perks up this region.

As the 2011 PNE comes to a close under beautiful sunny skies it is time to announce my unofficial Pulled Pork rankings for 2011.

As an official PNE RibFest judge and long time Tripadvisor reviewer I took on the challenge of trying the Pulled Pork Sandwiches from all of the Ribfest boothes and ranking them.

#1 Gator BBQ- perfect texture and blend with the sauce

#2 Crazy Canuck- a close 2nd

#3 Smoke and Bones- nice addition of colesaw but the sauce was more of a condiment rather than part of the sandwich

#4 Prairie Smoke and Spice- in the blind taste test I judged their Ribs #1, as did the judging panel and ‘the people’ but their Pulled Pork was just a bit dry and did not live up to the hype of their Ribs

#5 QN4U- Certainly not a bad sandwich but just not up to the top two

All in all the PNE Ribfest has been an excellent addition to the Fair. as many of my co-judges commented all of the ribs were very good. You won’t go wrong with any of them.

With this years line up I had to invite my parents to come and visit during the Fair at the PNE. Its a busy time with the Fair and all of our other projects but with the fabulous line up at our Summer Nights Concerts series they had to come.

Last night was Kenny Rogers and tonight is Donny Osmand.

Kenny was amazing. I literally grew up driving across Saskatchewan singing along to Kenny Roger, Anne Murray, Irish Rovers, British Invasion. I could sing along to every song last night. It was such a pleasure sitting with my parents and Wes watching Kenny Rogers. I think I was swaying the entire time. Kenny even talked to the crowd and told everyone to stop swaying, the entire audience was swaying.

It was a very fun night, another one to add to the celeb photo list!

Defiantly fun in the process.

I have a new respect for Kobayashi the legendary World Hot Dog Eating Champion. Eating a hot dog quickly is not that easy.

This year the PNE has launched ‘Crazy Dogs’ which features unique Hot Dog creations including a two foot monstrosity. The day prior to the Fair there was a staff Hot Dog eating competition. Originally, this was to be a three person competition but due to some ‘divine’ intervention I managed to squeak in as a fourth person in the feast. The competition looked tough. The smart money seemed to be on Paul McGraw. As the day went on I was careful to not over eat. I kept trying to offer my fellow competitor, Mike from Tech Services, hamburgers, hot dogs etc. But he would not bite (pun intended). At 5pm we arrived at the Crazy Dogs booth and were all astounded at the size of the hot dogs. They were not just Hot Dogs. They were covered with chili, cheese and banana peppers. It would easily be a meal for four people. It was at this point things started to work in my favour. Paul did not show up so the rookie runner from the Entertainment department, Alex, stepped in. I new I could psyche him out. Raquel from Playland was a darkhorse but I was relieved when she said “I’m hoping just to finish it”. This left just one main competitor, Mike Woodman. He seemed focused and had a definite plan. I quickly determined I would need to cut the massive hot dog into normal hot dog sizes to get through it. You just can’t hold something so big. The other big factor that worked in my favour was the last minute rule change. Given it was the night before the Fair and everyone was very busy rather, than eating the whole hot dog, the challenge became who could eat the most in five minutes.

As soon as the clock sounded we were off. Raquel started gingerly, Alex took much too big bites (once your mouth is full you have no hope) and Mike started strategically eating all the toppings. I systematically cut the hot dog and went for it. It was way harder than I thought. As the time was running out, I had managed to get through about two thirds of the Hot Dog. Mike was the closest competitor as he had finished the toppings but had not touched the bun or hot dog. Hard to win this kind of competition by only eating toppings….That being said Mike did actually finish the entire hot dog first (with a little help from his family). In the end I squeaked out a victory and ate the whole thing. (I never need to do that again). Next week it’s on to Ribs as I will be one of the judges for the PNE Rib Fest.