Street Hockey, Music, Burgers & Dogs – What Could be Better?
Photo credit: New England Spots Photo – Alex Iannicelli
On Saturday, August 19, we worked with the Andover Hockey Association (AHA) to plan their first annual Street Hockey Festival at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. This inaugural event offered AHA members a well-organized street hockey tournament, fun music, great food and plenty of family-friendly activities; creating the perfect opportunity to have some fun outside the rink!
AHA, the largest youth hockey program in New England, was looking to create a fun kick-off event where players, coaches and families could all gather and have a great time together. In addition to the street hockey tournament, there was a bouncy house, complete with a basketball hoop and large slide, provided by Busy Bee Jumpers, yard games and delicious food, provided by Aramark.
One of the event sponsors setup an endurance course and the local fire and police departments even participated in the fun, providing tours of their respective vehicles – a huge hit with the kids!
This event attracted nearly 200 attendees and directly aligns with the AHA mission of organizing and promoting a fun, safe, and developmentally rewarding hockey experience for all Andover children. Tournament participants also received a ticket to the UMass Lowell River Hawks vs. UNH Wildcats hockey game on October 6th, providing another opportunity to bring the Andover hockey community together.
“Our first summer street hockey party was a great success based on the feedback from the kids and the parents,” said AHA Board President, Matt McLaughlin. “It was like going back in time to the days when kids would just go out and play with their friends in the neighborhood and have fun. Events like this make our community, our young players and their love for the game stronger.”
AHA and Swank Events is already looking forward to next year’s event and anticipates an even bigger crowd. We are incredibly grateful to the generous event sponsors, including: TSR Hockey, Valley Hockey League, Xcelerated Performance and New England Sports Photo.
The kids weren’t the only ones that had a blast!
