Winnipeg fans ready for Whiteout party

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This article was published 20/04/2024 (509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city is preparing for a Whiteout.

The Winnipeg Jets open their best-of-seven first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche at 6 p.m. Sunday at Canada Life Centre.

The first Whiteout party of the post-season begins at 4 p.m. on Donald Street between Portage and Graham avenues.

A steady stream of shoppers browsed for clothing and other team swag at the Jets Gear store in Polo Park mall on Saturday afternoon.

David Smith, 59, has a closet full of white Jets gear but stopped at the mall to pick up two new white T-shirts at the store.

“This season’s — I picked up ’24s,” Smith said of the shirts. “One for me, one for the wife. Winnipeg Whiteout. We get them whenever they make the playoffs.”

He said he’s been following the Jets since their first game in the World Hockey Association in 1972.

Smith was a “little surprised” the team, which had a six-game winless streak in March, made the playoffs.

“I don’t care how they start the season, it’s how you finish the season,” he said. “I’m happy they made it.”

Smith said he’s going to his sister-in-law’s on Sunday to watch the game while decked out in white.

“They’re having their Whiteout party,” he said. “I’m wearing white, no matter what.”

Austin Thorarinson, 24, is going to his first ever Whiteout party on Sunday, so he picked up a blank Jets jersey to prepare.

He prefers the Nashville Predators but said, “You got to cheer for the local team.”

“It makes you proud to be from Winnipeg — we are a small city, but we’re loud. You see all the clips online about how we are one of the hardest fan bases to play against. We bring the noise, especially in the playoffs,” Thorarinson said.

The downtown street party, which requires $10 tickets for entry, is sold out, as is Tuesday night’s party before and during Game 2. The parties will be held each home game, and the games will be broadcast on three large screens on the street.

The City of Winnipeg announced street closures Saturday to accommodate the Whiteout street party.

Southbound Donald Street between Ellice and St. Mary avenues will be closed from 8 a.m. Sunday until Monday at 3 a.m.

The sidewalks will be closed at noon Sunday and will reopen overnight Monday.

Graham Avenue will be closed in both directions between Hargrave and Smith streets from 8 a.m. Sunday until 1 a.m. Monday.

The sidewalk on the north side of Graham Avenue between Hargrave and Smith streets will be closed at noon Sunday and reopen overnight Monday.

Winnipeg Transit buses will be rerouted off of Graham between Kennedy and Smith streets starting at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Regular service will resume Monday. Affected passengers can catch rerouted buses at Graham and Vaughan Street, Graham and Fort Street, Donald and Ellice, and Donald and York Avenue.

The Millennium Library will be closing early Sunday, at 4 p.m., and the Donald entrance and exit of the library’s parkade will be closed at 8 a.m. Sunday. It will reopen 3 a.m. Monday.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

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