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The countdown is down to hours

The stars are in Estevan and the clock is ticking. Downtown Estevan will be packed like sardines tomorrow afternoon as the Kraft Celebration Tour finally arrives.
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SportsCentre anchors Jay Onrait (background) and Dan O'Toole sign autographs during a Kraft Celebration Tour stop in Outlook last summer.


The stars are in Estevan and the clock is ticking.

Downtown Estevan will be packed like sardines tomorrow afternoon as the Kraft Celebration Tour finally arrives.

SportsCentre anchors Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole are in the Energy City and will begin their stay by helping local football players and parents clean up Dana Quewezance Memorial Field this morning at 11 o'clock.

The job will mainly be picking up debris. It will be aired as part of the live broadcast tomorrow on TSN.

Residents will start to feel the impact of the tour today at noon when several blocks downtown are closed off to allow for the setup of the 80,000-pound stage that will be used for the broadcast.

Estevan committee member Brenda Lyons said the public is asked to be patient with the closures and that "the celebration will be worth it."

Another activity will see O'Toole drive a stock car at Estevan Motor Speedway. It was unclear when this would take place, although a TSN crew is scheduled to be at tonight's races.

Jay Onrait was originally scheduled to race as well, but his height became an issue.

"He was going to and they said he would have a hard time getting in and out," Lyons said.

Along with an afternoon packed with activities tomorrow, special appearances will be made by members of the Riders and Regina Rams, as well as Gainer and some Rider cheerleaders.

"That'll add some spark, some pizzazz to the whole thing. They know how to get a crowd riled up," Lyons said.

The list of Riders includes Neal Hughes, Mike McCullough, Hugh Charles, Patrick Brown, Remond Willis, Chris McKenzie, Chris Graham and Jeremiah Weatherspoon.

Rod Pedersen will host the Sports Cage from Estevan, beginning at the show's new start time of 5 p.m.