Saskatoon Berries awarded 2026 WCBL All-Star Weekend festivities
That will be the case next summer at Cairns Field, as the WCBL and the Berries have announced the league's annual All-Star Weekend will be moving from Okotoks, Alta., to Saskatoon for the 2026 edition of the event.
'We have been working on this for a while,' said Berries president Steve Hildebrand. 'I appreciate the league and the governors of the league giving us this opportunity to host the 2026 All-Star Weekend. I think it's going to be a fantastic weekend and I'm really excited for our fans, but also all of Saskatchewan and Alberta coming out and enjoying a great day.'
The announcement was made at the 2025 All-Star Weekend in Okotoks, which wrapped up on a rainy Saturday night at Seaman Stadium with the East Division earning a 10-3 victory over the West Division in a truncated seven-inning tilt.
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Six members of the Berries played in the game, including infielder Ethan Menard, who was named the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player with a solo home run in the sixth inning. It marked the second year in a row a Saskatoon player had picked up the award, following teammate Carter Beck in 2024.
According to Hildebrand, Berries management has been discussing the possibility of hosting All-Star Weekend for at least a year and feels like next summer will be the perfect time to welcome the league to Saskatoon.
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'We actually looked at this for the 2025 (season) and felt it was just too quick,' said Hildebrand. 'We went through a lot in our first year to make sure everything was going well, we looked at the 2025 weekend and took a step back saying, 'Let's try to get it for the 2026 All-Star Game.' We came up with the idea of having a full weekend, having a two-day event rather than just one day and it was accepted by the league.'
WCBL All-Star Weekend will be split into a two-day event for the first time, with the WCBL Home Run Derby being held on a Saturday night, followed by a 1 p.m. opening pitch on Sunday between the East and West Divisions for the All-Star Game itself.
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Saskatoon Berries sending six to 2025 WCBL All-Star Game
Hildebrand also mentioned there will be a community festival held over the weekend, with an emphasis on promoting baseball at the grassroots levels.
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While Seaman Stadium is more than twice the size of Cairns Field in fan capacity, Hildebrand added discussions are ongoing to bring in more seating for the event.
'Okotoks has a beautiful facility and they have a lot of great seating areas,' said Hildebrand. 'We hope to do that as well and hope to expand a little bit, with the help of the guys at Gordie Howe (Sports Complex). Hopefully, we can find some space there that we can grow a little bit as well and have more people out to the games.'
Through 20 home games so far this season, the Berries sit second place to the Okotoks Dawgs in overall attendance with nearly 32,000 fans through the gates this year and an average attendance of 1,599 fans per game.
Combined with the team's success on the field this season leading the WCBL with a 34-7 record entering a double-header on Monday against the Weyburn Beavers, Hildebrand is encouraged to see the recognition of what the Berries have built over the span of just a few years.
'I think what we've done, not only on the field but social media-wise – all the tickets we've sold – they're really impressed by what we've done so far,' said Hildebrand. 'Like we do with our group, we just try to set the bar as high as we can.'
The Berries will close out their season-long road trip with stops in Weyburn and Swift Current, before returning to Cairns Field on Thursday night to face off against the 57's at 7 p.m.
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