PORTLAND, Ore. -- Buzz built for the Portland Trail Blazers Friday with the pre-season kick off party known as fan fest.

The free Wells Fargo Fan Fest starts at 5 p.m. at the Rose Garden with an intra-squad scrimmage and a chance for families to interact with players.

The first pre-season game tips off Oct. 7.

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Free passes are available at all Wells Fargo branches in Oregon and SW Washington

Fans were also encouraged to bring in school supplies in a drive for Portland area students.

Expectations were high all around for the upcoming season's Blazers, and not just because of rookie Greg Oden. The team appears to have more talent and depth than it's had for quite a few years.

Oden, All-Star guard Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge anchor the squad, made stronger with the addition of Spanish Olympian Rudy

Fernandez and draft pick Jerryd Bayless, along with the return of role players like Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster and Channing Frye.

All reports indicate Oden is ready for this season. He's been playing five-on-five for several weeks now and on Tuesday he'll raise the level as training camp opens.

The Blazers will likely still take it easy on Oden, limiting him to morning practices. He admits that although his repaired right knee feels fine, he's not quite in game shape yet.

The Blazers went on a surprising 13-game winning streak last season and finished 41-41 -- out of the playoffs but an improvement over a 32-50 record in 2006-07. It was the first time Portland finished .500 or better since the 2003-04 season.

Game tickets will be available on October 7 for as low as $10 at the Rose Quarter box office, at TicketsWest outlets, by calling 503-797-9600 or visiting Trailblazers.com.

The team is also launching a new service called ‘Ticket Alert’ to notify fans by e-mail when additional tickets are released for single-games.

The service is available for a seasonal rate of only $19.95, and will also allow subscribers a 10-percent online discount on Blazers merchandise.