Okotoks is about to get a visit from the Ghostbusters

Okotoks is getting a visit from the Ghostbusters this weekend.

To celebrate the opening weekend of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Okotoks Cinemas is hosting an event featuring a guest appearance from The Calgary Ghostbusters.

They’re a group of passionate fans, each of whom is kitted out with their own custom Ghostbusters uniform and gadgets based on the films, cartoons, and comics that all stemmed from the 1984 comedy.

Founder, Candace Schneider, says they’re also united in their passion for giving back to Calgary and surrounding communities.

“We’ve raised almost $10,000 for the Calgary Children’s Hospital since we started. We do events for the Airdrie Food Bank, we do things for Tails to Tell, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and we’ve also done blood donation drives.”

They’ve also hosted free “slime labs” at a few Calgary libraries as well as some schools in Calgary, which is among the activities planned for Saturday’s event.

The Calgary Ghostbusters have also made a name for themselves among fans of the franchise internationally through the sale of film-accurate logo and name patches.

“We sold patches to Adam Savage from Mythbusters and Tested, he commissioned patches from us, and he wore them to New York Comic Con. We’ve sold probably 2,000 patches all over the world now. We ship to the UK and Germany all the time,” says Schneider.

This event will be the second of its kind, with the Calgary Ghostbusters having appeared at a premiere event for Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2021.

Afterlife was filmed mainly in Alberta, including locales in Diamond Valley, Foothills County, Fort Macleod, and Drumheller, giving Albertan Ghostbusters fans a very tangible connection to the franchise.

The event will be free to attend, and tickets for screenings of the movie are currently available for purchase on the Okotoks Cinemas website.

The Calgary Ghostbusters have two vehicles that sport decals similar to the famous Ecto-1 from the films. (Photo courtesy of the Calgary Ghostbusters.)