Steinbach and the surrounding area will be in the national spotlight this weekend as Rogers Hometown Hockey rolls in.

The two-day festival will take place at the T.G. Smith Centre plaza. The event wraps up Sunday with an outdoor broadcast of the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals game, hosted by Ron MacLean and Tara Slone.

City Manager Troy Warkentin says the local committee was formed last summer when they were notified that Steinbach was selected as one of the Hometown Hockey destinations. He notes the local committee has been hard at work identifying local stories that are unique and special to the southeast.

"Each community is unique and each one has to find its features and its stories that are unique and special to them," says Warkentin noting the stories shared in Winkler last weekend were well presented.

"Certainly, Winkler did an excellent job. We were impressed with the broadcast content, at least that I saw, and we've been working hard to identify different features and key components of the community and surrounding area that can help the Rogers team put together the broadcast package for the upcoming weekend."

The Sunday broadcast usually includes two local hockey players who introduce the game's three stars and Warkentin says Rogers has been working with Steinbach Minor Hockey to select the two individuals but adds that is kept under wraps until Sunday.

"At this point, they have also been very limited with what they're sharing with us. We have provided a number of different ideas and contacts, however, with the way that Rogers produces its show, this is something that they make contact with these individuals and develop these stories with their own team," Warkentin explains.

Meanwhile, Mayor Earl Funk says "this will be huge for the city" as he expects Steinbach’s population will swell to over 22,000 people over the weekend. Funk notes he is looking forward to seeing how the southeast will be portrayed nationally. 

"It's not just going to be Steinbach," the mayor indicates, "they're actually including a lot of stories, like from Ste. Anne, and from other communities in our area and in the southeast and that's what's exciting because this is a venue where the southeast is going to thrive and the stories throughout the southeast are going to be a part of this weekend."

Here is a look at the weekend schedule: