John Biehler is currently reporting from Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada in Whitehorse for Miss604.com.
On the eve of Hockey Day in Canada, all the NHL Alumni, players, coaches and fans gathered for a huge community banquet at the Yukon Convention Centre in Whitehorse.
Complete with a lavish dinner, can-can dancers, a silent auction and all kinds of hockey folks you’ll instantly recognize, it was a pretty special night celebrating our nation’s game.
Scott Morrison was the emcee with all kinds of special guests, including Ron MacLean and a pretty over the top entrance by Don Cherry:
A final highlight of the evening was NHL alumnus Reggie Leech bringing the Stanley Cup around the room, visiting all the tables along the way:
Everyone was in great spirits and stayed out pretty late celebrating Hockey Day in Canada and festivities continued throughout the night. I heard over breakfast that Pat Quinn took the Stanley Cup to the hotel bar after the banquet… too bad I missed that!
Stay tuned to CBC all day for 3 NHL games (with all 6 Canadian teams) and live hits from Whitehorse throughout Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada.
John Biehler is an avid photographer, gadget geek and traveller. You can find him on Twitter and at johnbiehler.com where he discusses photography and all sorts of technology. All photos in this post were taken by John.
John Biehler is currently reporting from Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada in Whitehorse for Miss604.com.
The Thursday morning flight to Whitehorse from Vancouver was filled with NHL alumni — Trevor Linden was sitting a few rows in front of me and Lanny McDonald was behind me to name just a few — and excited fans piled in for the journey as well. Once we all landed in Whitehorse, the NHL alumni started signing items right away for fans that must have been sitting on pins and needles the whole way up.
After a quick stop at my hotel, it was off to the local Scotiabank branch that had a lineup around the block. Wendell Clark, Cassie Campbell-Pascal and (former Canuck) Brad May were signing anything the members of the community put in front of them. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
West Vancouver will host its own winter festival this weekend, celebrating the one year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The Columba Festival (named after a constellation that appears over our North Shore skies at this time of year) will feature concerts and activities along the Waterfront, at the Community Centre, Ferry Building, Silk Purse Studio, and John Lawson Park [Google Map].
Friday February 11, 2011
6:00pm – 10:30pm at John Lawson Park
Community Dance Showcase (featuring Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts, Pro Arte Centre, Vanleena Dance Academy, O’Connor Irish Dancers, Hot Flash Hoofers), Phoenix Rising fire show, and performance by Mother Mother with special guests Said the Whale.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
12:00pm – 2:00pm Dancers and drumming at the Community Centre
12:00pm – 9:00pm Park Royal Oceanside Ice Skate (14th St Ferry Building Landing)
6:30pm – 8:30pm Starlight Skate to music at the Ferry Building Landing
7:00pm – 9:00pm Jazz melodies by Emma Postl Trio at the Silk Purse Studio
All events are free of charge and the 3,000 square foot outdoor ice rink (by donation) will be setup until February 20th, 2011.
In just a few days Vancouver will celebrate the largest patriotic party the city has ever seen. At any given time, during those two to four weeks in February of 2010, you could catch a round of “O Canada” being belted out in arenas, at SkyTrain stations, and walking down the street.
While the tune we recite today was written by Calixa Lavallee of France for Quebec’s celebration of St. Jean Baptiste Day, and the lyrics are from a poem by R. Stanley Weir, our anthem actually has a Vancouver connection.
Around 1880 Calixa Lavallee composed the melody for “O Canada” as we know it today and French lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. Prior to that, Canada had several unofficial anthems. English-speaking Canadians would sing “God Save the King” or “The Maple Leaf Forever” while French-Canadians used “Chant National” by Routhier. English lyrics for Lavallee’s music would not come about until several candidates (all originally poems) had been considered.1
English versions of Routhier’s lyrics were translated around the turn of the century followed by poems by Dr. Thomas Bedford Richardson, Mercy E. Powell McCulloch (who won a Collier’s Weekly competition), and another by Ewing Buchan, who worked at the Bank of Hamilton in Vancouver. The version we sing today was penned by lawyer Robert Stanley Weir of Montreal whose poem was pared down and used in 1908. It was officially adopted in 1927 (fit for school children to sing, and made popular by soliders in World War I) and in 1980 Weir’s poem was proclaimed as Canada’s national anthem.2
Ewing Buchan’s version was considered for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927 however it didn’t get much further after Weir’s words took off. Buchan did manage to pen his “O Canada” – one of the first English versions the national anthem – in 1908 from a house in Vancouver’s West End.3 He wrote it in the parlour, accompanied by his daughter on piano. For fun, you could try singing the Made in Vancouver version by Buchan to the tune of our official anthem:
O Canada, our heritage, our love
Thy worth we praise all other lands above.
From sea to see throughout their length
From Pole to borderland,
At Britain’s side, whate’er betide
Unflinchingly we’ll stand
With hearts we sing, “God save the King”,
Guide then one Empire wide, do we implore,
And prosper Canada from shore to shore.
The house in the West End still stands today and was given the “City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Honour” in 1997. It currently operates as O Canada House, a Bed & Breakfast located at 1114 Barclay Street.
1 Canadian Heritage
2 Canadian Heritage
3 O Canada House
Last August I announced that Vancouver 2010 Winter Games street banners were for sale from VANOC with proceeds benefitting Tradeworks Training Society. A few months later, and closer to the anniversary celebrations, there are still banners available for purchase from The Flag Shop.
The banners range from $34.95 to $79.95 (for ones with Olympic rings that are signed). Proceeds still benefit Tradeworks Training Society’s program The Fab Shop which provides training to at-risk individuals who are trying to re-enter the workforce.
The The Flag Shop is located at 1615 Powell Street in Vancouver.
