Ontario Family Of 26 Hosts Thanksgiving Dinner At Scotiabank Arena

By Scott Slute

Toronto - When Ontario released their guidelines for Thanksgiving celebrations this year, the McMannis family had a big dilemma. The province had set gathering capacities at no more than 25 people. And as a family with 26 members, it seemed like someone was going to have to miss out on the turkey.

“We were really stressed out at first. We’re a big family and we all want to get together, but we also want to be safe and follow guidelines,” eldest sister Elizabeth McMannis tells us, “We thought we’d have to uninvited Kim’s new husband Jim. We’ve all been on the fence about him since last Zoom Christmas when he got drunk and started screaming about Kamala Harris’s track record as California’s Attorney General.”

Thankfully, no one had to send any awkward text messages after Ontario announced their latest change in their reopening strategy. With the announcement that arenas and concert venues could operate at full capacity starting October 9, the family would be able to all celebrate together. Just as long as they did it in an arena.

After nearly two years of closure due to the pandemic, the McMannis family were able to rent out Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto for a shockingly low rate. And unlike their homes which are capped at 25 guests, the arena allows up to 50,000 attendees, so the family will be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner all together on centre ice.

“After so many months, it’s so nice to finally see society returning to normal,” family patriarch Bill McMannis tells us.

The family will be legally required to bill their Thanksgiving dinner as a “performance piece” as part of their rental contract with MLSE. The family has yet to decide whether or not they will allow audience members to watch their dinner from the stands.

Scott Slute is the Editor in Chief of The Toronto Harold