Organizers say they're looking for 1,000 volunteers to help run nearly 50 activities planned for the 106th Grey Cup Festival in November.
"We've got a few hundred signed up just loosely, by making inquiries early on," said Brad Sparrow, co-chair of Edmonton Grey Cup festival committee.
"We're shooting for over 1,000, and if we need more we know Edmonton will deliver more as we start building out all of these events."
Edmontonian Sherry Cormier is among those already signed up to help with the festival, which runs from Nov. 21 to Nov. 25.
Cormier helped run the VIP section for last Grey Cup held in Edmonton in 2010.
"It's just wonderful, you get to meet a lot of great people," said Cormier, who was on hand for Friday's news conference and has volunteered at various events for the last 10 years, including the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"You get to see things from a different perspective than you do when you're at the game. You get to see behind the scenes, you get to see how this all comes together and you meet fantastic people."
The four-day festival leading up to the Grey Cup game just got bigger, too
A six-storey bungee jump in downtown Edmonton has been added to the list of attractions, organizers said Friday.
"We're trying to make it the best ever and we've always had that goal," said Duane Vienneau, who was part of the 2010 committee and is now the 2018 festival executive director.
Downtown to have family-friendly events
Most of the festivities will be concentrated along Jasper Avenue from 99th Street to 96th Street, where a 20,000-square-foot tent will be set up for family-friendly events.
Other attractions previously announced include a 243-metre zipline running from an eight-storey launch tower near the Shaw Conference Centre down to Louise McKinney Park in the river valley.
There will also be a tube slide on Jasper Avenue, and something called street skiing, which will start at the top of Grierson Hill and take people down behind the Shaw Conference Centre.
Tickets for the Grey Cup game go on sale June 1.
Edmonton holds the record for the fastest sellout in Grey Cup history. Tickets sold out in a record six days in 2010, the last time the city hosted the Canadian Football League's championship game.
"We've said from the start that our goal is to beat our own record," said Len Rhodes, president and CEO of the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Eskimos have won 14 Grey Cup championships, but never at home.
The four day party begins Wednesday Nov. 21, with the Grey Cup Parade on Saturday and the big game kicking off at 4:30 p.m. (MST) on Sunday Nov. 25.
The CFL announced in April that Calgary will host the 2019 Grey Cup.