An exciting weekend on tap in LaSalle.
The 4th annual Play for a Cure event is taking place on Friday and Saturday to raise money in support of cancer research.
This year, in partnership with MRA Mobile Experiential, they're bringing the National Hockey League's United By Hockey Mobile Museum Experience to the Vollmer Complex as part of the festivities.
The 53' double expandable trailer features interactive displays, artifacts and more, celebrating hockey's multicultural trailblazers, change-makers and business leaders.
Admission to the mobile museum is free to the public throughout the weekend, and hours of operation will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and on from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Event director Jeff Casey says everyone involved is very excited the event is finally here.
"Our event has a lot of moving parts but a big part of it culminates into an All Star game happening Friday, April 19 at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle with puck drop at 6:30 p.m. and doors opening at 5:30 p.m. We have an incredible lineup of NHL players and even a few cool celebrities," he said.
Hockey Hall of Famer and four-time Women's World Hockey Champion Angela James will be in LaSalle taking part in the Play for a Cure Pro-Am as well as the Girls Skills for a Cure Event.
Angela James, Meghan Agosta, Adam Graves, Gary Roberts, Al Iafrate, Andy Delmore, and Michael Leighton are among the many who will be taking part as well.
There's also YouTube sensations and hockey trick shot artists Pavel Barber and Zac Bell who will be competing in the Woody's Hoodies Shoot Out with local hockey players including Windsor Spitfires Carson Woodall and Cole Davis between periods.
Casey says they'll have a lot of local players involved in events throughout the weekend.
"A big part of our event is raising money for local collaborative cancer research. Obviously it's the local community that supports it, so we try to involve as many avenues of hockey as we can. Not only do we have 160 hockey players competing on Friday in some friendly hockey games, we've invited a hockey player from every organization in Essex County."
Then Saturday is the Girls Skills for a Cure event, which brings together 175 local female hockey players aged U9 through U18, for a day of skill development and mentoring.
Instructors this year include Angela James, Olympic Gold Medalists Meghan Agosta and Sami Jo Small, as well as Olympic Silver Medalist Megan Bozek.
Casey says the growth of the event has been incredible, leading to a single year high in fundraising with potentially more to come.
"We are very excited to announce that this year's event has raised $404,000. That's a culmination of 160 hockey players doing a ton of fundraising, we have 58 sponsors, we have over 100 volunteers and then we have an additionally 150 youth female hockey players generating these funds," he said.
Since 2019, the Play for a Cure Pro-Am has raised over $1.5 million dollars to support local cancer research through the Cancer Research Collaboration Fund.
Anyone interested in learning more about the event can do so here.