Saskatchewan Roughriders fans aren't hard to spot in downtown Calgary. (CBC)

Football fans lined up downtown for free pancakes Friday morning as the countdown to the Grey Cup begins.

Stephen Avenue Mall and the Telus Convention Centre will be hosting several events leading up to Sunday's championship game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes at McMahon Stadium.

Downtown boosters are hoping the festivities, a short C-Train ride from the stadium, will attract both tourists and locals.

"We hope that a lot of the citizens from Calgary come down and see what's going on downtown because some of them don't get down here that often," said Maggie Schofield, head of the Calgary Downtown Association.

Klaus Marahrens, who has run a sausage stand downtown for 30 years, said the area is usually dead after office workers go home and he hopes to benefit from the crowds.

Fans arrive early

An estimated 20,000 people are expected to be walking the streets of downtown Calgary over the next three days and tourism officials peg the economic impact of the Grey Cup at $50 million.

Alouettes fan Neil Sakaitis attends a pancake breakfast in Calgary on Friday morning. (CBC)

Regina visitor Larry Schwentkh was bobbing to country music downtown on Friday morning, sporting a green beard, a Roughriders jersey, and a "Wheathead" hat.

"It's great stuff. That's why we came down on Wednesday so we can take it all in. If you just come for the game, you miss the Grey Cup," said Schwentkh.

Allouettes devotees are harder to find in downtown Calgary, but Quebec brothers Neil and Peter Sakaitis said quality, not quantity, counts when it comes to fans.

"There's so much green, but we haven't been heckled yet. This is Canada and everybody is just so inviting," said Neil Sakaitis.

"Calgary knows how to throw a party," added Peter Sakaitis. "Everybody has their jerseys on and are celebrating their team and the Grey Cup."

Watermelon shortage averted

A Safeway store near McMahon Stadium received a special shipment of watermelons Friday morning in anticipation of Saskatchewan fans who want to wear hollowed-out melons on their heads.

A Safeway employee unloads watermelons brought in especially for Roughriders fans. (Zulekha Nathoo/CBC)

Some stores in Calgary sold out of watermelons this week, so the grocery store chain had to place a special order, said Safeway spokeswoman Betty Kellsey. It's very unusual to have the giant watermelons in stock at this time of year, she added.

Dozens of Grey Cup events are scheduled leading up to Sunday's game at 4:30 p.m. MT.

• Families are invited to Olympic Plaza on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for pancake breakfasts, live entertainment and a chance to meet former Stampeders, and Calgary Flames alumni.
• Free live performances will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Stephen Avenue between Olympic Plaza and Second Street S.W.
• A gala concert is being held on Saturday at Pengrowth Stadium featuring Great Big Sea, George Canyon, Divine Brown and Sophie Millman. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
• On Saturday, Hollywood actress Elisha Cuthbert, who was born in Calgary, will lead the Grey Cup Festival Parade as grand marshal starting at 11 a.m.