Gamers from around the globe are holding 24 hour gaming marathons for the annual "Extra Life" event.

The campaign is held yearly with the goal of raising money for children's hospitals.

Though groups of gamers often hold smaller private events, a pair of Okotokians took it upon themselves to rent out Elks Hall to hold a public gathering.

Event organizer Brendan Rose says the event fell at a busy time for himself and fellow organizer Katie Fournell.

"It hasn't been super difficult, it's more just this month has been one event after another. I've been doing IT for the elections office so I've been swamped with that, Katie's been doing Enchanted Okotoks."

Despite their jam-packed calendars and a busy start to the morning rigging up electronics, the hall was fully set up by Saturday afternoon as local gamers started to roll in.

The venue was lined with tables adorned with consoles, televisions, and board games, with door prizes and tournaments available for those in attendance.

Rose had taken part in past events, but this was his first time organizing one, let alone at a public venue such as the Elks Hall, which he says was extremely accommodating.

Advertisements in the local media and sponsorships from local businesses legitimized the event and brought in participants from around the Foothills, raising close to double the previous year's total funds raised by mid-Saturday afternoon.

Rose says this year's event was largely a tester.

"We wanted to try something a little bit bigger. This was more of an experiment. Huge ambitions, and a lot of things we wanted to do but just didn't have time for. So next year it's going to be bigger and better and we're going to plan ahead a little bit better and make sure we're prepared for it."

 

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