January 11, 2008

Boston Bruins 18th Annual Charity Wives' Carnival 2008

The Boston Bruins 18th Annual Charity Wives' Carnival took place at the T.D. Banknorth Garden on January 6, 2008. The funds raised were donated to Cradles to Crayons, a local charity based out of Quincy, MA. Cheri and I had the pleasure of working with members of Cradles to Crayons for the two games prior to the carnival. They were absolutely wonderful people and it was very refreshing to see people so dedicated to helping the less fortunate children all over the state of Massachusetts. The members of Cradles to Crayons work specifically to provide school supplies, winter coats and other essentials to homeless children and children in low income homes. They work directly with the Department of Social Services to determine children in the most need of assistance. To learn more about Cradles to Crayons, you can check out their website at www.cradlestocrayons.org

A little bit of history about the Wives' Carnival. The very first carnival was done in 1990. It was established and organized by Diane Brickley, Barb Wesley and Rona Lemelin, wives of Andy Brickley, Glen Wesley and Reggie Lemelin. Over the past 18 years, the Carnival has generated over $1.5 million dollars which has been donated to numerous charities in New England. Another interesting fact, the Wives' Carnival is the longest running charity event put on by any professional sports team in Boston.

This was my second year working the Wives' Carnival. Last year I spent the first session working Chara's autograph table and the second session working the Shoot on the Goalie station with Phil Sauve. It was so much fun, but this year had even more wonderful treats in store. Cheri and I arrived at the Garden at 9:30 where we waited in the long line to check in. Once we got inside we were asked if we would be "bouncers" in the locker room. It appears there were a few volunteers that were "well known" autograph hounds (you know the kind that get the autograph and sell them) who were hitting the players up for autographs as they arrived at the locker room. I have to say, I have never been a bouncer before but it was super fun! The rules..no one allowed in the locker room unless they are a coach, player, wife or girlfriend. Yes I may have harassed Bish a few times for id, but how could I resist ;) Lucky for us Cheri and I are both not only Boston fans but Providence fans as well so there were no embarrassing moments when the guys representing Providence showed up. I would have been horrified if I had not known who they were and stopped someone who turned out to be a player! We also had the pleasure of meeting a few of their girlfriends who were positively wonderful as well.

This year I spent my day working with Tim Thomas and Marc Savard. I had to laugh at the irony of the situation (will not get into it now). I made it a personal mission this year to make an effort to become a Tim Thomas fan. I have gotten over my Raycroft bitterness and I knew that as a person, Tim Thomas was a wonderful man. I wanted to be able to put my support behind him as a fan. The Wives’ Carnival helped me do just that. When Tim arrived at the table he said hello. He took pictures with Cheri and I and autographed out shirts. Then the yawning began. He must have been a little sleepy from the game the night before and the early morning session for VIPs. So as a peace offering, I bought Tim Thomas a coffee. Throughout the session, I saw him as exactly who he was. One of the most amazing, sweet, personable, kind, generous and outstanding individuals I have ever met! The man never sat. He stood, signed autographs, took pictures, smiled, shook hands...I always knew he was a good guy, but after seeing him in action with his fans for two hours, I will cheer for him from here on out no matter what!

After lunch, the second session began. This session I spent with Marc Savard. Another player I was trying really hard to like this year. One of the girls who worked with him during the first session said he did not have much of a personality, but rest assured that by the end of the second session that was no longer the case. Jokes were cracked and a good time was had all around...especially when he scored a phone number or two from some of the ladies ;) Even more ironic is that some friends of Cheri and I are heading to Afghanistan in a few weeks and their older brother works at the Garden. We had never met him, but what do you know...he happened to be doing security at the Savard table. What a small world! He certainly made time pass quickly with his stories and humor.

Aside from the autograph sections, there were many other fun activities going on. Mark Stuart spent some time in the Dunk Tank. The poor guy was freezing and when they tried to take him away he insisted that he was fine and kept on going until they finally dragged him out of there! There were also other activities such as Guitar Hero, Wii, Shoot on the Goalie, Knock Hockey, Bubble Hockey, Strong Man, Phone a Friend, tours of the locker room and the penalty box. The penalty box was one of my favorites thanks to Shawn Thornton sitting inside and making my second run in with him just as enjoyable as the first. He has a positively wonderful sense of humor. Combine talent with a good personality and you score pretty high in my book!

Also present at the carnival was the Stanley Cup! Of course at the end Cheri and I posed for pictures with it and took pictures for a bunch of other people as well. That was surely one photo op one should never miss. Next stop on our list is the visit to Fenway Park where we are going to get a private up close and personal view of the World Series Trophies. I knew I added the Sox to the list of teams to work with for a reason ;)

The best thing about the carnival was the fact that the Providence Bruins had the day off and thus several players were in attendance. For the longest time, we have been looking to see some cross promotion of the two teams and January 6, 2008 we got a taste of that! It was great seeing Jonathan Sigalet, Matt Lashoff, T.J. Trevelyan, Wacey Rabbit, Vladimir Sobatka, Adam McQuaid, Mark Tobin, Tuukka Rask, Byron Bitz, and Mark Tobin there (If I left anyone out, please forgive me. It was a whirlwind day and I am going off memory here!)

Overall I think this year's carnival was a great success. I am already looking forward to this time next year and doing it all over again!

Letters of love, lust, or disagreement can be sent to rlord (at) soveryobsessed.com

by Rebecca | 1:39 PM | 5
filed under: 07-08 season || boston bruins || miscellaneous || providence bruins