Sparks fly as Canadians descend on Seattle for Taylor Swift concerts, Blue Jays games this weekend | CBC News

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Seattle (Taylor’s Version). 

Between Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and Canada’s only MLB team taking on the Seattle Mariners in a three-game series, Canadians are flocking to the city south of the border. 

Kara Passey of Vancouver is leaving for Seattle early Friday morning, with plans to take in both a baseball game and what The Rolling Stone has described as Swift’s best tour ever “by an absurd margin.” 

“I’ve been a Blue Jays fan, and honestly a Taylor Swift fan for even longer,” she told On The Coast host Gloria Macarenko. 

“The stars are really aligning.”

Earlier this year it was announced that Swift’s Eras tour would not include any Canadian stops, much to the dismay of fans.

Still, for many, it wasn’t enough to create bad blood and dedicated Swifties across Canada decided to shake it off, purchasing tickets for shows out of country instead.

Whenever the Toronto Blue Jays play in Seattle, a horde of baseball fans crosses the border to see the Canadian team take the pitch — the drive from Vancouver to Seattle only takes about three hours, if the border isn’t too busy.

A flight to Toronto, on the other hand, lasts four-and-a-half hours, plus all the time travelling to and from the airport, and waiting for the plane to take off.

Michael Woody, senior vice president community engagement and public affairs for Visit Seattle, said he’s expecting “an elevated number” of Canadians — and their money — in town this weekend, and they’re ready for it. 

“It’s a perfect setup to be record-breaking this weekend,” he said. 

“We have high hopes for a very successful weekend.”

He said “a number” of hotels are sold out.

Blake McCorquodale, who’s also driving down to Seattle from Maple Ridge, B.C., this weekend, has been a Swiftie since 2006. 

“When Taylor released that song Tim McGraw, I was like who is this cute little girl,” he said. 

He’ll be living his wildest dreams at the Sunday night show, even though getting tickets was “a nightmare”: Ticketmaster went down, pre-sale codes weren’t working and scalpers scooped up tickets and resold them for hundreds of dollars more than the purchase price.

In a stroke of luck, McCorquodale got a single ticket, and said he is hoping he’ll find a blank space at Lumen Field — with another single ticket for his partner. 

It was looking like it might be a bit of a cruel summer for Eve Green when she couldn’t get Swift tickets last fall, but she was able to snatch some up at the last minute and is heading south for the Sunday performance. 

A hotel was out of the question, due to availability and high pricing, so she’s leaving from her home in New Westminster, B.C., at 6 a.m. in anticipation of heavy border traffic. 

“I’m just happy that I’m going,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based Laryssa Vachon will be in a lavender haze next month when she sees Swift in Los Angeles.

When she applied for a pre-sale code, she had to list three cities that worked for her. Seattle was on the list, but the code her friend got was for L.A.

“It feels a little extreme,” she said. “I’ve never crossed the border to go see someone.”

She said it will cost upwards of $1,500 to go see the show. 

“Having her come [to Canada] would have been nicer.”