Cowabunga Weekend was an absolute blast AND we raised $848 CAD for SickKids Hospital. Totally radical!
For those unaware, June 6, 2026 was the first Cowabunga Weekend party and it definitely won’t be the last. There are certain things that are good for the soul, and playing retro games on the couch with friends while consuming food from my childhood was definitely good for the soul.
Bit of a rocky start, but we got there
The day started at around 6:00am. Got up, showered and started getting things setup. Of course, as with every Extra Life stream I do and despite my best efforts, my PC decided the sound wasn’t going to work at all this morning (I had setup and tested everything the night before by the way). Luckily, a quick reboot fixed the issue. I snarfed a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch, hauled all the hot sauce down into the Swank Tank (my basement), and fired up the stream just in time for 8:00am.
The morning was pretty chill playing through the Sonic portion of Sonic Adventure. Good start to the day.
Switched to Super Mario world around lunch and of course had to pair it with some Super Mario Kraft Dinner and Sharkleberry Fin Kool-aid. I don’t know how to describe it, but Super Mario Kraft Dinner just tastes better than regular Kraft Dinner. It must be something about the chonkyness of the noodles and that they are just a bit al dente. I don’t know, just try it for yourself. In fact, pair it with Sharkleberry Fin Kool-aid for a real taste sensation.
Those look like some thick noods
The chaos begins
Around mid-afternoon, people started showing up and we switched over to some couch co-op and multiplayer games. We had a big group, so at times it was complete chaos but everyone got a turn.
Around the cowabung-hour (5:00pm) we switched over to, well… the Switch for some Shredder’s Revenge (I know, not technically a retro game, but in the spirit of one).
Of course, we naturally had to pair Shredder’s Revenge with the most iconic pizza from the 90s (Pizza Hut) and wash it down with some Cherry Coke. Honestly, that combo slapped way harder than I was expecting.
The d20 of Pain was rolling
Any donation during the stream over $20 earned a roll of the d20 of Pain; the higher the roll, the hotter the sauce. The donations were coming in hot during the stream (pun intended), and the d20 was favouring high rolls. Let’s just say I was suffering (both during the stream and the day after).
By midnight, the party had died down, but we finished off the night playing some some duck hunt with an old friend. Absolute perfection.
Check out the (almost) full stream below
Keep in mind, I didn’t quite get the sound levels sorted out until about 3 and a half hours in, AND apparently YouTube only saves the first 11 hours and 55 minutes. Sorry, I’m new at this… kinda. I’m working on a highlights video, so stay tuned.