Though JulyFest will have the usual bocce and soccer tournaments going on, there will be a new, but familiar, event that will make its debut in the Kimberley Civic Centre on Friday night.
The roller derby girls will hit the concrete inside the arena at 7 p.m., marking the first time that such an event will be featured in JulyFest. Tickets for the derby are only available at the Civic Centre doors.
The Kimberley derby team, the Bavarian Barbarians, will be playing a squad made up of other teams in the East Kootenay Roller Derby League.
As with every derby event, this one has a unique title, as the girls have christened it the Invasion of the Bocce Snatchers. The girls will be divided into two teams as the Belles of the Balls take on the Meanie Pachinis.
The Barbarians are hoping to make it an annual event, as it runs right smack in the middle of the EKRDL season.
If you miss the bout, the derby girls will be in the JulyFest parade on Saturday, and will be volunteering around Kimberley for the weekend.
Pamela Currie, who goes by the moniker Demolition Dolly when she’s out on the derby track, is encouraged by all the support for derby when the team is out and about in the community, referring to a car wash the team did a few weeks ago.
“For us, it was pretty phenomenal,” Currie said. “It was steady the whole day and it was really great for people to see us outside of derby, outside of the rink. There was a lot of community support.”