Fans invited to say bye to Ben Stelter at Oilers' home arena on Friday
Ben Stelter's fans and supporters are invited to a send-off for the six-year-old who died a week ago.
A procession in honour of the Oilers superfan who was diagnosed with brain cancer at four years old will travel by Rogers Place on Friday.
Organizer Ashif Mawji, a Stelter family friend, will drive his orange 2021 812 GTS Ferrari – featuring Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and, most recently, Ben's images – in the parade alongside several other "special guests."
He has arranged for police escorts and traffic control, as well as free posters for fans to wave from the sidewalks outside Ford Hall.
"We will have, I think, several hundred – if not thousand – fans that love Ben who will be there cheering," Mawji told CTV News Edmonton.
"We'll go very slowly, so you can wave, you can cheer, sing 'La Bamba,' play 'La Bamba.'"
Mawji met the Stelters during the pandemic when he was asked to drive by Ben's home in the Ferrari for the boy's fifth birthday.
Later, Mawji would facilitate Ben's first meeting with McDavid in 2021.
"We consider them part of our family. I just wanted to give Ben the send off that he deserves," Mawji explained on Wednesday.
He believes Ben would love the Friday plan.
"Sitting with him, I remember, in the Scotiabank Chairman's Club at Rogers, he would love to watch himself on any media, even on the screens, the jumbotron and stuff," Mawji recalled.
Edmontonians and NHL fans were introduced to Ben in the spring, when the Oilers named him their official "playoff ambassador."
He was honoured with his own licenced Oilers trading card, and the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation partnered with the Alberta Cancer Foundation and the Kids With Cancer Society during playoffs.
Ben quickly became known for his infectious smile, growly 'Play La Bamba, baby' call, and steadfast loyalty to Edmonton's NHL team.
"I think it's going to be very emotional on Friday. It's obviously a celebration of life; we want to be remembering all the joyful, and there's so many joyful moments from Ben," Mawji said.
He told CTV News Edmonton the Stelters are doing as well as they can.
"I'm a parent. I cannot imagine what they're going through internally. No matter how ready you are for something like that, you're never ready… They're a very strong family. They're very tight. They'll pull through this."
Anyone who plans to watch the procession is asked to arrive early to be outside Ford Hall by 9:45 a.m.
A livestream of the memorial service at 11:30 a.m. will be provided by Hope City Church at hopecity.ca/stream.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb
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