Rider fans in the Watrous area got to meet some of the best players on this year's team close to home.

Along with kids fun and great food and door prizes, a pair of Saskatchewan Roughriders were a part of the festivities.

Watrous Co-op held a customer appreciation barbecue, and Namaan Roosevelt, as well as Greg Jones, were on hand to sign autographs.

Roosevelt talks about leaving the city to see fans all across the province.

"Being in Regina, you don't see stuff like this. So just to come out and go to places like this in the small communities and just see the people and see how much they enjoy the Riders, just awesome to see."

Roosevelt talks about coming to events on behalf of the Riders.

"It's fun, just for the people that support us and come to our games and cheer for us, it's good to get put and show that we appreciate it."

Meanwhile, Greg Jones is still new to the province of Saskatchewan. 

He talks about what it means to him to come to these events.

"I think it's a lot of fun. I don't think we get to have this interaction with the people all over like we do here, so it's really cool. It's exciting for some of the fans who meet us personally and get autographs and take pictures, so it's been a lot of fun."

Jones talks about the support the Riders have across the province.

"It's pretty early in the season, so I think our fans understand that. We might have some struggles early on, but the biggest thing is we're really close, we're never out of a game, and I think, like I said before, the biggest thing is the fans understand that and still support us anyway."

The event has been ongoing for a number of years in Watrous, with the Rotary Club providing volunteers for the barbeque.

The Rotary Club is attempting to complete the second phase of a walking trail with fundraising dollars.

You can hear more from Namaan Roosevelt here:

And Greg Jones here: