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.
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
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.
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.
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.
During the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony slam poet Shane Koyczan took to centre stage to recite, “We Are More”. Born in Yellowknife and raised in Penticton BC, his poem (that was first featured in Ottawa on Canada Day in 2007) rippled through the hearts of Canadians everywhere as all cheered for his inspiring words.
You can follow him on Twitter @Koyczan on Twitter and read up on more of his work on his main website.
Update February 24, 2010 I met Shane this morning and John Biehler took a photo of us.
Photo credit: 
