Kakabeka’s big break

For Kakabeka Falls and its chance to grab national exposure, it’s only a matter of time; 10 seconds to be precise.

That’s how long it takes to vote for the small community west of Thunder Bay and give it a chance to host a TSN Sportscentre broadcast next month. Starting Thursday, people have 24 hours to vote whether Kakabeka Falls or New Liskeard will be part of the Kraft Celebration 10 in 10 Tour.

Kakabeka Falls Curling Club submitted the application. President Peter Kuzyk said people can vote as many times as they’d like.

“We’re asking everyone we can to vote early and vote often because if we can get this competition there’d be some great benefits for our region,” he said.

“It would be some great exposure for the community, it relies very heavily upon tourist traffic so anything we can do to attract more people to our region is going to be a benefit for the community.”

Those benefits include a community barbeque put on by Kraft. While the event is usually free in other cities, the club asked Kraft if the barbeque could be used as a fundraiser the disaster relief fund, which the company agreed to. The club itself would receive $25,000, which could be used to upgrade insulation and drive down energy costs.

“If we can drive down our costs that will put us in a position that we can carry on for another 60 years,” Kuzyk said.

Kuzyk said he’s hoping the town will get 400,000 votes. He’s setting up a booth at Intercity Shopping Centre Thursday to get out the vote.

But he knows Kakabeka Falls is in for a good fight with New Liskeard, which is trying to raise money for a skate park.

To vote, go to http://www.kraftcelebrationtour.ca/