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Red Wings’ Zetterberg coming to town Tuesday

July 29, 2015   ·   0 Comments

Local fans of the Detroit Red Wings are about to get the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to meet and greet with Henrik Zetterberg, and it’s all thanks to Pita Pit Orangeville, and by extension their patrons.

This spring, Pita Pit Canada announced with the launch of their new, Swedish Snowballs dessert, the chance for one community to win the chance to meet the Red Wings captain and native of Sweden, and have him participate in a community event. The winners would be determined by which store sold the most Snowballs, and with the massive number of hockey fans in Orangeville, it came as no surprise when the local stores were announced as the winners.

Between both stores, as well as the local hockey teams and schools that participated in selling the dessert, more than 4000 Snowballs were sold, securing their first-place position.

“It’s really exciting,” said Brad Horton, who owns the two stores in Orangeville, along with his wife Melanie. “We had been hoping for a little bit more notice to plan a bigger event, but it’s really exciting to have this happening.”

Mr. Zetterberg, 34, will be making his appearance on Tuesday, at the East Broadway location, where local residents will have the opportunity to meet him and get an autograph, purchase pucks and t-shirts, and enjoy the festivities.

“It’s been great, but also really overwhelming,” said Melanie. “We were so focused on winning, and doing what we needed to do, that we haven’t really gotten out of that stage yet. Then we realize, wait, Henrik Zetterberg is coming here, and it becomes a big deal again.”

Along with the hockey player, the Founder of Pita Pit, Nelson Lang, along with company President Kevin Pressburger, will also be attending the event, as well as Rob Anderson, one of the key players involved in bringing the Snowballs desserts to Canada.

The community event will run from 12 noon to 2 p.m., and the staff of Pita Pit Orangeville will have the opportunity to have a late lunch with Mr. Zetterberg afterwards.

“Everyone in the community just really came together to do this,” said Melanie. “The four schools did an amazing job, and so did the hockey teams. Our player who won the VIP meet-and-greet was Keegan Ross of the AA Major Atom Team, and he is also the biggest Henrik Zetterberg fan I’ve ever met!”

When they first called Keegan to tell him he had won, his father video-taped the revelation, as Keegan was literally in tears from the excitement.

“Before we found out that we had won, he kept coming in and asking if he was still in the lead for the highest number of order forms,” added Melanie. “He was just so excited at the idea of getting to meet him.”

The contest provided a great opportunity for community engagement, something that Brad and Melanie have clearly been passionate about with Pita Pit since the beginning. Along with getting the four area schools involved (Laurelwoods in Amaranth, Credit Meadows and Island Lake in Orangeville and Centennial Hylands in Shelburne), as well as the hockey teams, they also were provided the opportunity to get involved through the Orangeville Soccer Association, who allowed Pita Pit to sell the desserts during their opening soccer weekend. As a thank-you, Brad and Melanie donated 50 cents for each of the Snowballs sold to the association.

“We feel our community really pulled together for this one, and we blew away the competition in all of Canada,” said Melanie.

Those hoping to get an autograph from Henrik Zetterberg are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the Orangeville Food Bank. Signed pucks will be available for purchase for $10 each, and signed t-shirts for $20 each. All proceeds from the sales will be donated to Spenser’s Kids, a local organization that helps underprivileged kids receive the opportunity to play hockey.

“Although it’s the National Day to celebrate Pita Pit’s 20th Anniversary, we see it more as a way to say thank-you to everyone in our community for pulling together and helping us achieve this goal,” said Brad. “We have a really incredible community behind us, and this wouldn’t have been possible without everyone being a part of it.”

For more information or details about either event, visit www.facebook.com /PitaPitOrangeville.

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