Music and hockey lovers will come together in Bruno, Sask. on Feb. 15-17 for the Picker’s Cup. The event combines a music festival and a pond hockey tournament into one chilly winter celebration for the province’s original tournival.

Kristen Berkel, artistic director and planner of the event, came up with the idea to combine music and a hockey tournament last year. Berkel found continuity between the shared closeness that occurs when playing sports with teammates and attending music festivals with friends, and decided to bring the two together.

“My hope is to create some long lasting memories that engender all those great feelings of doing something new together and experiencing something as part of a greater community,” she said.

This is the inaugural Picker’s Cup and if everything goes well Berkel is hoping to bring back the event in coming years.

“We would like to be able to offer something for people in Saskatchewan and beyond … and offer a unique Family Day experience for people,” she said.

The music lineup features three bands from Saskatchewan — Andy Shauf, Blake Berglund and The Vultures, and The Dead South — among the many other talented Canadian acts set to take the stage. The local flavour and venue is something that will lend a distinctive feel to the event. With a strong sense of support for music and sport already an ingrained part of the community, Bruno provides the perfect background for the festival.

“There’s not too many opportunities to see this many people in a small setting. These are acts that you probably won’t have a chance to see again like that,” she said.

Berkel’s husband Jonas will be running the hockey portion of the festival. The tournament will have a 3-on-3 format split into adult mixed and youth mixed divisions. Attendees will be able to wander from one event to the other during the day with the music running alongside the tournament. The headlining acts will be featured during the evening after play has ended.

In addition to being a great time, the event also aims to bring together the community to celebrate music, art, sport and create long-lasting ties. After months spent battling the bitter cold, the Picker’s Cup may be the perfect winter pick-me-up — a chance to hit the ice and warm up listening to some great music.

“We’re hoping that this is the kind of experience that you’re going to keep with you for the rest of your life,” Berkel said. “We’re just hoping that this can be a fun, playful weekend with some high-quality music to boot”.