We’re loud, we’re patriotic, and man, we’re everywhere. Canadians are showing their colours and painting the town red with their enthusiasm, celebrating Vancouver 2010. “O! Canada” rings out every few minutes on street corners and you’ll find men, women and children wearing and waving the Canadian flag with pride.
Watching CTV, they interviewed Shani Davis from Team USA who has won back to back gold. “I didn’t know Canadians were this patriotic. I always though Americans were more,” he shook his said and added, “not even close.” People are calling this “Canada Day every day” and it is, from dawn to dusk.
Should you have any more images you would like me to profile, please feel free to add them to the Miss604 Flickr Group. I don’t think I’ll get tired of seeing these happy, excited, and smiling Canadian faces any time soon.
As a side note, it’s well worth checking out the other province’s pavilions if you’re out and about. They have information about beautiful travel destinations from here to St John’s.
Day 8 at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics saw us win another gold medal, thanks to skeleton athlete Jon Montgomery, as the City erupted in even more celebration.
I have never seen this many people in Vancouver at one single time, for consecutive days, all chanting and cheering non-stop for hours. It’s as though we just won the Stanley Cup and everyone is watching footage of the winning goal over and over again for 24 straight hours.
My day yesterday focused on writing, hugging the Stanley Cup as it sat in the media centre, and then being a guest of two beer companies: Molson and Budweiser, who both hosted fantastic events.
I went to a tasting event for Rickard’s Dark, the brand’s new porter. It was light-tasting for a dark beer and went down smoothly. Attendees were blindfolded (to heighten senses and flavour profiles) as Chef Lee Humphries of the Irish Heather presented us with three courses, all prepared with or for pairing with Rickard’s Dark.
Someone commented after the first two courses that the only thing missing was bacon. They must have been on the same wavelength as Chef Humphries as he included bacon in the last course – dessert. I’ve never thought of trying bacon ice cream (and pairing it with a dark beer) but this just worked.
Later in the evening I hit the red carpet to cover Club Bud‘s Burton Party with my gal Keira-Anne.
The event is by invitation only so if you had a your ticket the wait in line was minimal and once inside the Commodore, the free Budweiser was flowing. However before partaking, we spotted many famous Team USA athletes from current and past Olympics out on the red carpet before they headed in.
Guests of honor included: Nancy Kerrigan, Vernon Davis, Heather McPhee, Bonnie Blair, Chris Spencer (Seahawks), Carl Lewis (legendary sprinter), Seth Wescott, Graham Watanabe, Trisha Burns (snowboard/agent), Gretchen Bleiler, Lindsay Jacobellis, Stacey Cook, Alice McInnis, Elijah Teter, Mike Jakowski, and Johnny Weir (figure skating).
Inside, the Commodore was transformed into a winter wonderland complete with ice sculptures, white drapes, lighted ceiling, and icicles hanging precariously from a seemingly frozen stage where scantily clad dancers got the crowd moving. John and I are heading back to Club Bud tonight for their NHL night that will see many more stars, from Hollywood and the NHL.
John and I had the chance to see it on opening weekend and it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. I’m not sure what I was expecting going into the show however it blew me away with modern themes, humour, and dazzling visual effects. If you saw the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony on TV and were mesmerized by the floor to ceiling projections, imagine the same technology but in a small, intimate theatre setting.
Both John and I really enjoyed the performance although if you have young ones this may not be suitable as it has mature language and subject matter.
Should you have the chance to check it out before its run ends, I highly recommend doing so. Tickets start at $30 and are available online.
Nova Scotia handed out scarves, Alberta decked out downtown in Calgary Stampede hats, and the Northwest Territories served up tea and bannock at Canada’s Northern House.
Every day during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics a province or territory is featured. I’m a bit late to post this list but so that you can enjoy all the themed treats that are to come, here’s your master list:
12:30pm – As a side note there’s a rally at the front of the Vancouver Art Gallery in support of making MukMuk an official mascot of the Vancouver 2010 Games (as he’s currently a sidekick).
Wednesday, February 24th – Ontario Day
6:30pm – 7:00pm The Yukon Experience at the Victory Ceremony (BC Place)
Thursday, February 25th – Manitoba Day
6:30pm – 7:00pm Burton Commings at the Victory Ceremony (BC Place)
Friday, February 26th – Newfoundland and Labrador Day
To the kids in Vancouver and Surrey, the Olympics are very exciting because they are in Vancouver. They think the mascots are cute, the torch is very cool and they’re a lot of fun. Kids in Canada think we will win the Olympics because we have a lot of people who cheer for the Olympics. Some of the kids think the Olympic rings are very cool, the rings are a symbol of the Countries coming together in peace.
The kids like Hockey, Skiing and Speed skating the best. Snowboarding half pipe is also very popular. We also love the mascots, the most popular is Miga, then Mukmuk, Sumi and Quatchi. We like to watch the Olympic games. We have 3 gold medals and we can get more!
