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Funtastic Ready To Roll

Jun 29, 2018 | 6:56 AM

One of Vernon’s biggest events of the summer is ready to step up to the plate.

Funtastic celebrates its 34th annual sports and music festival at the DND grounds today through Monday.

President Rob Ellis says about three quarters of the more than 200 teams are local, or from the Okanagan, with the rest from the Lower Mainland, Alberta, and elsewhere.

“We’ve got some teams coming back that have actually been to the tournament for 29 years, two of them. We have multiple teams that are coming back for 20 years. Most of them are with families, so it’s a family reunion for them every year,” says Ellis.

Ellis says they want everyone to be safe.

“We’re asking everybody don’t drink or drive at all. We have city transit late at night. We have buses that will take thousands of people back into town. Driving Hands will be on site along with the local taxi companies.”

Ellis says RCMP will also be monitoring the activity.

“Over the years, there’s never been any incidents up here, or any major incidents ever. It’s Funtastic right, and the first three letters are fun, so everybody kind of gets that.”

Ellis says ticket sales for the nightly concerts have been phenomenal.

The headliners are The Young ‘Uns tonight (Friday), The Road Hammers Saturday, and The Hip Show on Sunday.