The final game might have been a disappointment, but the beginning of the World Junior Hockey Tournament was a great time. Last week in Buffalo, as team Canada fought through their preliminary matches during the World Junior Hockey Tournament, Canadian Tire was heating things up off the ice. Canadian Tire set up a Green Screen Display, reflecting the energy of the day’s events and inviting game attendees and hockey enthusiasts to gear up (literally) for exciting group shots with friends and family!

As fans lined up to snap a shot they were also encouraged to register with the Canadian Tire Hockey School – an online resource set up by Canadian Tire to provide information to anyone involved within the hockey community! Providing tips for parents, coaches, and players alike, the Canadian Tire Hockey School attracted a lot of attention among attendees from either side of the border.

From Boxing Day to New Years Eve, the atmosphere was rocking as Canadian Tire and High Road were able to gather over 1,100 registrations for the Canadian Tire Hockey School in only four days.  Hundreds of coupons and cool giveaways were distributed to the merriment of all who found themselves enthralled in the madness, and participants were ecstatic as they walked away with framed souvenirs from the day’s event.

Just in time for the rush of consumers looking to stock their pantries with gourmet goodies, Whole Foods Market held a media event to showcase what’s in-store for the holiday season as well as give back to the community. A group of local food bloggers were invited to the store’s first annual holiday scavenger hunt where they donned their runners and competitive spirit for a race around the store to collect everything on their “shopping list.” (Think of the 90s TV game show “Supermarket Sweep” but without the bad hair.)

Not only did the winner get major bragging rights, Whole Foods donated a thousand dollars worth of food to the Vancouver Food Bank in the winning blogger’s name.

Armed with personalized shopping baskets and grocery lists, the participants scoured the aisles for everything from Lesley Stowe’s raincoast crisps to 365 Cookie Crumble Truffles. It’s not surprising the competition heated up on Twitter:

vanfoodster Chances to win maybe challenging, there are 11 competitors in #WFHolidayHunt @wholefoodsvan about 18 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

followmefoodie About to get ready for intense competitive grocery store shopping w/Van’s fav foodies @Whole_Foods_Van #WFholidayhunt about 18 hours ago via txt

erin_ireland Is it safe to say that anyone wearing anything but runners to #wfholidayhunt is not a competitive threat? http://yfrog.com/7bno20j about 18 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Thanks to some VERY helpful Whole Foods Market team members, we had a winner in just less than 10 minutes!

goodlifevan Damn that @erin_ireland she reads the labels way better! Hats off! ) #wfholidayhunt @Whole_Foods_Van about 17 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

followmefoodie Aww boo! I came 4th in the grocery store hunt! @Whole_Foods_Van #WFholidayhunt about 17 hours ago via txt

As the winner of the holiday scavenger hunt, local food blogger and TV personality, Erin Ireland won the opportunity to donate a cart full of food to the Vancouver Food Bank in her name.

Following the hunt, media were treated to a sampling of prepared food items and gourmet treats presented by Whole Foods Market team members and everyone spent the afternoon mixing, mingling and proposing challenges for next year.

The #WFHolidayHunt hashtag trended in Vancouver on Twitter that day and the event resulted in numerous blog posts, radio and webisode mentions. Several media even referred to the holiday scavenger hunt as “one of the most entertaining media events they went to this year”. The High Road team is already being bribed for 2011 invites.

Sometimes we get to do projects that deliver a little something extra above and beyond every day business. This event was hosted by Children’s Miracle Network, CHEO and Microsoft Canada, but the payoff was the kids… their reaction was so real and powerful, it was amazing just to be part of it. Enjoy!