I’ve missed BC Day, Quebec Day and yesterday’s Nova Scotia Day but I’ll make up for it now by profiling Alberta Day at the Olympics (perhaps even to honor Iginla’s stellar performance on the ice last night).
Photo by Chris Bolin for The Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede Royalty, Harry the Horse, Olympic Mascots
Every day at the Olympics another Canadian province is featured. Stop by the Canada Pavilion at LiveCity downtown for cultural performances and giveaways from the featured province each day. Alberta Pavilion is located outside BC Place over at Beatty and Robson as well. Today the first 2,500 people through the doors will receive some stampede hats and be able to learn a bit more about our neighbouring province.
At this morning’s press conference 3-time Olympian (and blogger) Kyle Shewfelt said, “I’m very proud to be Canadian and I’m very proud to call Alberta home.” He added, “Alberta’s presence at these Games is felt through its athletes and its many venues and services.”
Hon. Lindsay Blackett said, “If sport is the heart of the Olympics, culture is the soul.” With plenty of concerts and artist showcases (especially today) you can view all special events from Alberta Plaza live online.
I’ll be hopping on the Alberta Train on Thursday to get up to Whistler and I’ll also start to feature each province daily starting today and continuing with Prince Edward Island Day tomorrow.
Yesterday was another action-packed adventure here in Olympics land. The sun was shining, the cherry blossoms started to pop on the trees, and it was a great day for sport.
Day 5 February 16, 2010
The morning started out like any other, John Biehler met John and I at our house and we all walked up to the media centre at Robson Square. Coffee flowed and a team from Nova Scotia showed up to give us chocolate, scarves and swag to celebrate Nova Scotia Day at the Games.
As we got our photos and posts ready for the day and I was interviewed by CBC (French) in the morning regarding social media at the Olympics. In the afternoon I was given an all-access tour of the CBC which I will write about in another post. This was seperate from my interview earlier in the day and I had the chance to ask news anchor Ian Hanomansing how he’s covering the Olympics as a non-official broadcaster.
Later in the day we were invited to the Molson Brewery to watch the Canada vs Norway men’s ice hockey game yesterday. Once again the hospitality and kindness of the Molson crew truly shined as they also unveiled to our crowd a special celebration bottle they’ll be giving to our medalists.
Packing up and walking home from the media centre every day there are thousands of people still out and about on the streets. Concerts happening in Robson Square while kids take to the ice for a skate as late as 10:00pm.
At the end of Day 5 of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Games yesterday, Canada was up another gold and another silver. Ending the day off with a 8-0 men’s ice hockey victory was just the icing on the cake.
Medal Count for Canada – February 16, 2010
Gold: 2
Silver: 2
Bronze: 1
View full medal count by country
Exploring more of Vancouver’s history this week I took a gander at the listed photograph subject terms that I can search through on the City of Vancouver Archives website.
Finding some of the most obscure results, I thought it would be fun to post a few retrospective photos of our city, featuring some unusual imagery.
Circus Animals
1900-1910 – A Parade with elephants goes down Granville Street
Archives item#: CVA 677-1011
Croquet
1907 – A man and woman play croquet at Denman & Barclay (now Barclay Heritage Square)
Archives item#: CVA 677-119
Gazebos
1900-1910 – A gazebo-like shelter dubbed the “summer house” at Prospect Point
Archives item#: St Pk P260
Radios
1931 – The Radio Sales Company installs a giant radio at Victory Square
Archives item#: CVA 99-4145
Soda Fountains
1914 – The interior of Cairns Drug Store located at 732 Granville
Archive item#: CVA 371-912
Tourist Trade
1905 – Investigate Vancouver, BC, Canada
Archives item#: CVA 677-565
Wrecking
1955 – The old Granville Bridge being demolished
Archives item#: CVA 447-132
Finally, you can search the following term on the archives website to find some amusing and somewhat puzzling photos of yore.
Wild Animals as Pets
1910 – A little girl in Vancouver (on Waterloo Street) and her pet Black Bear
I’ll continue the Then and Now photo series next week and I’m open to themes if you have any suggestions (ie. hotels, apartments, stores, streets, parks etc.)
The Olympic flame is burning strong in Jack Poole Plaza overlooking Coal Harbour with a beautiful North Shore backdrop. Unfortunately, no one in Vancouver can get close enough to it to experience its warming glow as its captured behind an unfriendly chain link fence.
Photo credit:
Stv on Flickr
I heard from Bob Mackin that VANOC was considering changing the fencing but as far as I know, the inspiring flame still burns, isolated behind bars.
Photo credit:
Stv on Flickr
The reasoning is that it’s to protect the structure from vandals although while I’m sure many are just as concerned about security, I’m sensing most just want to get up close for a loving look.
Photo credit:
Chilie on Flickr
Lucky for us, a few have been able to poke their lenses through the grid far enough to capture some amazing and much more appealing views of the cauldron.
Until the flame’s majesty is freed for better public viewing, I’ll be looking through the fence and past the barriers thanks to these photos. Should you have any images to share, please feel free to add them to the Miss604 Flickr Group.
Update February 17, 2010 I had the chance to check out the cauldron today with my mom, dad, niece and nephew.
It looks like they cut a space in the fencing so that photos can be less obstructed and it seems the barrier’s been pushed a little closer to the cauldron.
Update February 20, 2010 Hosea from the 24 Hours reports (via twitpic) that the bottom half of the fence is now plexiglass window materiel while the top half is still metal.
Update February 24, 2010 I snapped the following shots from the Can Fund Athlete House in the Shaw Tower.
You can see the queue for the elevated viewing area in the some of these shots.
Continuing my daily series featuring my personal experiences at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics I have to say that yesterday was indeed a fantastic day. Despite not getting to bed until 2:30 this morning because I was still up working, John and I had a once in a lifetime experience over at the Pacific Coliseum.
Day Four, February 15, 2010
First thing in the morning I sat in on a press conference with Alexandre Bilodeau, the first Canadian to win gold in Canada.
Following the media event I wrote several posts, featuring the Vancouver 2010 iPhone application, and hung out at the Media Centre where the wifi is abundant and the coffee is complimentary.
John and I then headed over to the Pacific Coliseum for the pairs figure skating final. If you’re heading out there you can take a #135 or #10 Hastings bus and follow the instructions from the blue jacket volunteers. Bring as little as possible with you so that you can get through security with ease.
Once again I can’t post photos from inside Olympic venues on my site but you can view my Flickr stream for a sneak peek. John also has an amazing set of all the on-ice action.
It was awesome to watch the Chinese win gold and silver – the crowd absolutely loved them and they performed flawlessly. We stuck around as they handed out the medals in a special ceremony and it was neat to get text messages from our family in Iowa and Illinois that spotted us in the stands during the live broadcast.
I promise I’ll have more daily photos tomorrow as I won’t be heading into any venues but I will be heading to a broadcast centre and a brewery (in that order).
Medal Count for Canada – February 15, 2010
Gold: 1
Silver: 2
Bronze: 1
Coming up for Day Five at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, it’s Nova Scotia Day with celebrations all round. Canada is featuring a province each day so you can learn more and get some goodies from the Canada Pavilion (at LiveCity Downtown) if you stop by. There will of course be celebrations at the Atlantic Canada House tonight as well.
Photo credit: 
