Port Alberni’s biggest summer party is back this weekend as Funtastic Alberni returns for its 36th year, bringing together an 80-team co-ed slo-pitch tournament and two nights of live music from June 27 to 29.
The Okee Dokee Slo-Pitch Tournament runs all weekend at Echo Fields on King Street, while the Funtastic Music Festival takes over Bob Dailey Stadium on Vimy Street Saturday and Sunday evenings. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. both nights, and wristbands are $40 cash only, available at Cloverdale Paints. The music shows are 19 and older.
Saturday’s lineup is headlined by Vancouver’s own platinum-selling industrial rock band Econoline Crush. Vancouver Island cover band End In M and local all-girl teen group Upstairs Neighbors round out the opening night. Sunday night brings Eagle Eyes, one of North America’s top Eagles tribute acts, along with Port Alberni favourites Los Borrachos and Chemainus country rock trio The Porter Brothers.
Beyond the sports and music, Funtastic has quietly become one of the community’s most reliable fundraisers. Since 2013, the non-profit Port Alberni Funtastic Sport Society has donated more than $315,000 to local organizations, including minor baseball, school programs, Special Olympics, and the Port Alberni Kinsmen. Last year alone, $50,400 was handed out to over a dozen groups.
Organizers remind residents to bring a lawn chair and check funtasticalberni.com for any last-minute updates. The tournament traces its roots to a campfire idea at a Comox slo-pitch event in 1988, starting with just 14 teams the following year. Now, it’s one of the largest tournaments of its kind in Canada and a staple of the Alberni Valley summer.
