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News by Maureen McNamee Radio station holds local version of television’s Survivor Power 107 is bringing the popularity of television’s Survivor to the Stampede midway this year with a twist on its Midway Marathon. In Stampede Survivor, 10 contestants will ride the giant Ferris wheel and compete for $10,000 in prizes – one rider will be eliminated each day based on a vote by their peers, with the sole survivor taking home $8,000, and the second and third place riders receiving $1,000 each. Michael Godfrey, Power 107’s marketing director, says the TV show is dominating popular culture right now, and dozens and dozens of listeners have sent in faxes and e-mails asking to participate in the station’s local version of the game. "We’re pretty excited about it and the response has been incredible," he adds. The process will be similar to the television show. Competitors will be split into two teams – each team will be given a daily skill-testing task to complete, and the winning team will be rewarded with special privileges for the balance of that day. At the 6 p.m. break, the elimination vote will be taken. Godfrey says when it gets down to two people, the station is considering two options to determine the winner – previous contestants may be brought back to vote, or listeners may get the chance to vote themselves. Power 107 decided to give people a chance to play "survivor" after a listener called in and asked why there was no Canadian version of the show, which is only open to Americans. Godfrey says the new game will be more exciting and challenging than the contest the station has held the last two years, the Midway Marathon, in which contestants had to ride the giant Ferris wheel for a specified amount of time each day during the Stampede to compete for $10,000 – the contest proved too easy, with seven out of 10 riders splitting the prize last year despite shortened breaks and the addition of sleepovers. "One of the things we found with Midway Marathon is that the ride is so tame you’re not going to get sick from being on it," Godfrey explains. "It’s mostly just boring." Stampede Survivor starts Thursday, July 6 when the contestants get on the giant Ferris wheel. The first vote will be Friday, July 7, and the station will be providing regular updates on air and on its Web site. Power 107 is taking entries for the contest from now until Friday, June 30 at 9 a.m. on their Web site (www.power107.com), by e-mail (contests@power107.com) or fax (264-3291), and contestants over age 18 will be selected by random draw.

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