Downtown Regina will be a little busier Friday, but instead of it being cars driving on the 12th Avenue plaza, it will be hockey balls and sticks.

The STICKS hockey tournament returns to downtown Regina today, with hopes of raising funds for the Shine On Foundation.

Co-organizer Jeff Jurzyniec said it will be an unique experience for this to be a part of the Heritage Classic festivities.

“I think there’ll be a pretty good festival feel in the park throughout the weekend,” Jurzyniec said. “Normally, we would take over Rose Street in the past, and it would till feel pretty good for a few hours, but I think we have a unique opportunity this year to be right in the heart of downtown right through the lunch hour, which should make it a pretty special experience.”

Jurzyniec said this event has been running since 2007.

“There were three of us, myself, J.P. Farago, and Ryan Robinson, all worked with Stantec at the time,” Jurzyniec said. “We were across the street actually at the time, we linked up with Michael Ball with Harvard Broadcasting, and we started running the event.

“It really was an attempt to get out in the community, do something that would potentially have some longevity, and it latched on.”

The event gets underway at noon.