Playing word association you'd never put hockey and the symphony together.
But, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra is doing just that, staging a show that features Canada's favourite sport.
The Symphony Tells a Story includes a musical adaptation of the classic Canadian childrens' short story 'The Hockey Sweater'.
The 50-minute show is open to both children and adults alike at a special performance Thursday, Feb. 5, at 11:30 am at the Kelowna Community Theatre.
Tickets are available for $25 at this link.
Every year, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra designs a show for kids to expose them to the thrill of live music.
The show is then staged for two performances in each Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon for thousands of elementary school students.
With the iconic 'The Hockey Sweater' featured this year, the symphony decided it should open one of the shows to the general public.
That show being the aforementioned Feb. 5.
The Symphony Tells a Story includes excerpts of music from Beethoven's 5th, Star Wars and The Nutcracker.
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Photo credit: Pattison MediaKelowna radio personality Phil Johnson will be the narrator.
Kelowna radio personality Phil Johnson is the narrator for The Hockey Sweater segment.
The Hockey Sweater is a real-life experience of Quebec writer Roch Carrier, first published in French in 1979, translated to English in 1984 and also made into an animated short film in 1980.
In 1946, Carrier was a kid in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, where he and all his hockey-mad friends wore Montreal Canadiens jerseys with star Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard's No. 9 on the back.
When his sweater had worn out, Carrier's French-speaking mom ordered a new one from the English-only catalogue of Eaton's department store.
A linguistic mix up resulted in Carrier receiving a sweater of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the bitter rivals of the Canadiens.
Carrier was taunted by friends and his hockey coach benched him.
The short story has become a famous piece of Canadian literature that stands up as not just a funny, dramatic and heartfelt tale for kids, but adults, as well.
It ties in Canada's passion for hockey and tensions between francophones and anglophones.
Photo credit: Penguin Random HouseThe cover of the 30th anniversary edition of 'The Hockey Sweater' childrens' book.
