Whiteout to return to Donald Street during Winnipeg Jets home ...

A spring blizzard will again blow into Winnipeg during the NHL playoffs, with 5,000 people watching home games at whiteout parties on Donald Street outside the Canada Life Centre.

"There is a whiteout coming," said Kevin Donnelly of True North Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Jets and the downtown arena.

Whiteout street party tickets will go on sale for $10 starting April 17, with $5 from each ticket going to United Way Winnipeg, Donnelly said at a news conference at Canada Life Centre.

Whenever the Jets play a home game in the playoffs, frenzied fans clad in white outfits — from T-shirts and jerseys to painter's coveralls and some outrageously creative outfits — pack the downtown arena and streets around it to cheer their team.

"Uniquely Manitoban, the Winnipeg whiteout street parties put our passionate fans, their creativity and their spirit on a national stage," Donnelly said. "It becomes the talk of the town, and very soon, the talk of the nation."

The licensed parties take place on Donald Street between Portage and Graham avenues during every home game, starting two hours before puck drop. The games will be broadcast live to the street on three large screens.

Game ticket holders are also invited to attend, with doors to the Canada Life Centre opening 90 minutes before puck drop. Single game playoff tickets for Round 1 of the playoffs will go on sale April 15.

The Party in the Plaza will also return, with tickets to the True North Square outdoor event costing $25, including $5 going to the United Way. Those tickets also go on sale April 17.

The provincial government is contributing $75,000 per playoff round to support the parties. Economic Development Winnipeg will contribute $50,000 from its special event tourism fund.

"We contribute more money the further the Winnipeg Jets go into the playoffs," Premier Wab Kinew said to laughter at the news conference.

"I absolutely do not want to jinx anything, but I will say that this is one area of government finance where I don't mind seeing us go overbudget."

Kinew spoke about going to a Jets playoff game with one of his sons in 2018 and called watching the games one of the experiences "that tie us together."

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham also said the whiteout tradition builds community.

"Every school, every business throughout the city, no matter where you are, you see people wearing white, and it's something you've got to experience," said Gillingham.

"The whiteout parties are fun because it's one of the very few times in the year, probably one of the only times in the year, when we're hugging complete strangers and high-fiving complete strangers when the Jets score.

"It's like, I don't know who you are, but we're celebrating together."

The Winnipeg Jets punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs last week after dropping the Calgary Flames 5-2.

The United Way will distribute the funds it receives from the whiteout parties to organizations that help people in Winnipeg experiencing homelessness, addictions and mental health challenges, True North said in a news release.

The 2019 and 2023 street parties raised more than $212,000 for community agencies, including N'Dinawemak — Our Relatives' Place, Main Street Project, Velma's House, Astum Api Niikinaahk and the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre.