The next phase of Kraft Hockeyville 2010 begins after a special CBC broadcast on Monday, March 15.

Organizers of Cranbrook’s Hockeyville bid are encouraging everyone to watch the show because as soon as it is over, voting begins.

The segment naming the Top 12 communities in the running for Hockeyville will air in Cranbrook on cable at 10 p.m. Monday night. If you have a satellite dish or digital cable you will be able to watch the CBC Ontario feed at 7 p.m. locally.

A CBC camera crew visited Cranbrook the last weekend of February to capture the town’s passion for hockey. During the March 15 Hockeyville show, clips of various communities will be shown.

Plans are being made for the possibility of Cranbrook moving on to the next phase of Hockeyville. The Top 12 communities will be chosen by a panel of judges based on community spirit, originality and passion for hockey. A pair of communities from each of four regions will advance, along with four Wild Card selections.

Once the show naming the Top 12 is over, voting begins immediately to determine the Top Five communities. Each town is vying to get the most votes in its region.

Voting after Monday’s announcement is open from the night of March 15 until 11:59 p.m. on March 21.

Should Cranbrook be named to the Top 12, a voting centre will be set up in a room on the concourse of the the Cranbrook Rec Plex. Organizers expect to have at least 10 laptops there and they’re hoping to have volunteers spend an hour or two voting for Cranbrook on those computers. The centre will likely be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day during voting.

People can vote for their favourite community an unlimited number of times through the internet and over the phone.

People can also vote by text message. There will be a charge of 15 cents for every text, with a limit of 25 messages per day, per phone.

After voting is done, the Top Five communities will be announced. One of the two communities from each region will be chosen, based on the number of votes received, plus one Wild Card town.

The Top Five will be revealed the night of March 27 and voting will be open from then until March 31 at 11:59 p.m.

The winner will be announced Saturday, April 3.

The community crowned Kraft Hockeyville 2010 will win the grand prize of hosting an NHL pre-season hockey game and $100,000 for upgrades to a local arena.

The winning town will also be featured in a CBC Television Kraft Hockeyville special next fall.