The Paralympic Torch Relay

The Paralympic Torch Relay began on March 3^rd in Ottawa, Ontario – the capital city of Canada.  Its 10-day journey across Canada will feature ten celebration communities, including two cities in Ontario, one in Quebec and seven in British Columbia (for a full list of locations and dates, visit www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/more-2010-information/paralympic-torch-relay/about-the-paralympic-torch-relay/celebration-communities/).

The Paralympic Torch design is identical to the one used in the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay – except  the 2010 Olympic logo is replaced by the 2010 Paralympic Games emblem.

Want to know more about the Paralympic Torch Relay?  Check out my top six Paralympic Torch Relay links:

6)  The torch will be at Riley Park this Wednesday!  It’s March Break, so get up early and go check it out: www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/more-2010-information/paralympic-torch-relay/daily-highlights/march-10—vancouver-(riley-park)-and-maple-ridge_264444tg.html.

5)   Former Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan doing the ‘Turin Twirl’ during the 2008 Torch Relay: www.samsullivan.ca/sam-sullivan-paralympic-torch-relay-photos.html.

4)  Official Facebook page for the Province of BC, featuring real-time updates of the Paralympic Torch Relay: www.facebook.com/YouGottaBeHere?ref=ts

3) Photos of the torch relay – check out the fancy blue suits the runner’s wear: www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/more-2010-information/paralympic-torch-relay/torch-relay-photos/torch-relay-photo-gallery_303802Gg.html

2) The torch in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ccitZWO1IY

1) An interactive look at the torch.  Make sure you click on the fire in the top corner to light it! www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/more-2010-information/paralympic-torch-relay/about-the-paralympic-torch-relay/paralympic-torch-interactive-animation/

Blog Comment Winners

Congratulations to Henry from Churchill Secondary and Vincent and Rachel from Hamber Secondary for winning 2010 mascot keychains!  They have won prizes for leaving a comment on the blog.

Remember to check out our latest contest for a chance to win a prize pack valued at $200!

Keep on commenting!

Go Spring Break go!

Wheelchair Curling Prize Giveaway

Congratulations Dominic L. from Eric Hamber Secondary for winning a pair of tickets to Wheelchair Curling!  Dominic won for leaving a comment on our blog.

You can win tickets by READING a comment posted by our moderator team, CLICKING ‘leave a comment’, and SHARING your thoughts.  We will be giving out various Paralympic tickets over the next few weeks, including Opening Ceremonies, Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair Curling.

The Paralympic Games start in a couple weeks – our blog will continue to be updated through the Paralympic games, with even more contests and comment prizes. 

GO CANADIAN PARALYMPIANS GO!

the2010studentexperience Hits the Airwaves

Our very own student moderator Sam will be a guest speaker tonight on the Youth in 57 Minutes radio program (www.y57.com) at 7 p.m. on 102.7FM in Vancouver.

Youth in 57 Minutes covers local youth topics and this month Sam is the guest for the Youth of the Month segment.  He will be speaking about the 2010 Games and his experiences as student moderator for the2010studentexperience blog!

GO SAM GO!

Blog Comment Winner – Billy Talent Victory Ceremony

Congratulations to Alfreda Y. for winning three tickets to the Billy Talent Victory Ceremony happening this week!  Alfreda was selected at random for posting a quality comment on our blog.

You can win tickets to the Olympic and Paralympic games by sharing your thoughts on the2010studentexperience.  Read a post (or two!) by our moderating team, click on ‘leave a comment’ and tell us what YOU think!  We have Olympic Victory Ceremony, Paralympic Opening Ceremonies, Wheelchair Curling and Sledgehockey tickets to give away until the end of the 2010 Games.

Remember, Contest Two closes tomorrow morning at 8am.  The winner will receive a Chapters Gift Card and 2010 prize pack (including Paralympic Opening Ceremonies tickets if you live in the Lower Mainland).  Design a new mascot for your chance to win!  Full details available in the ‘contest’ section.

If you are a student at Eric Hamber, check out Hamber Olympic Fest at lunches this week  in the Drama Studio for your chance to win tickets, merchandise and high five’s from the Community Schools Team.

GO CANADA GO!

Congratulations to the Eric Hamber moderator team for doing such an awesome job on this blog for the past four weeks!  We will continue posting our thoughts and giving away awesome prizes until mid-April.

Jessie, Doris, Jane Lynn, Bianca, Sam, Liz and Ted are AWESOME moderators, don’t you think?

Prizes! Prizes! Prizes!

Our second contest closes Monday morning!  If you are a student in the Lower Mainland, you can win tickets for the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies.  We are asking you to design a new mascot and friend for Muk-Muk, Quatchi, Sumi and Miga – full details available here.

Remember, you can win tickets and prizes by leaving a comment on the blog.  Steps: read a post (or two!) from our moderator team, click on ’leave a comment’ and share your thoughts!  Blog comment winners are selected at random from a pool of QUALITY posts!  Check your email often to see if you are a winner.

GO WORLD GO!

Contest #2 is Posted

The second contest is posted! 

Create a new mascot for the Vancouver Games for your chance to win tickets, merchandise and a Chapters gift certificate!

Click HERE for full details!

To view McCoy’s winning entry from Contest One and his delicious and healthy meal, click HERE.

Blog Comment Ticket Giveway 2

Congratulations to Laila A. from Churchill Secondary who has won two tickets to the Women’s Hockey Game on Wednesday night!  Dimos K. from Hamber has also won three tickets to the Victory Ceremony on Wednesday night.

Laila and Dimos were selected at random for posting a comment.  If you are a high school student  in the Lower Mainland, post your thoughts on the 2010 Games for your chance to win!

Congratulations to our Week One Winners

Our weekly blog comment winners are Sarah W. and Vincent C. from Eric Hamber, along with Kevin L. from Point Grey.   Each winner has won a pair of tickets to the Victory Ceremony next Monday! 

Each week, tickets will be given away at random to a high school student in the Lower Mainland who LEAVES A COMMENT  on our blog.

 How to LEAVE A COMMENT:

1)      Read an entry from our team of moderators.

2)      Click on ‘leave a comment’.

3)      Leave a comment for your chance to win tickets and other great prizes.

Our contest winner for the week is McCoy M. from Churchill Secondary.  McCoy’s well-balanced meal (posted later week) looked delicious!  McCoy has won four tickets to the Victory Ceremony next Monday, a $25 Subway gift certificate and a prize pack of Olympic merchandise!  Way to go McCoy!

Our next contest will be posted on Monday, February 15th.  You can win prizes this week by posting comments on the blog.

We look forward to seeing your posts this week.

Join the conversation, win tickets, and share your experiences.

Fire with Fire

*First CONTEST will be posted today!*

Fire with Fire

Commissioned by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, this piece of street art takes over an entire building.  Isabelle Hayeur, the creator of the video installation describes her work best:

“The beauty and violence of spectacle takes us back, and the future is built from its wreckage.  It’s always a small thing: innocuous, innocent.  Canadian Pacific Railway workers, clearing space for new growth, levelled a wooden city in less than an hour.  After the summer inferno, the city’s population quadrupled before the year was out.  Residential hotels in the downtown core make way for newcomers once more.  At 112 West Hastings Street, a smoke signal speaks across distances of space and time, halting citizens in mid-step. Awe-struck bystanders gather in a circle, without beginning or end.  This is nothing but a play of light, an illusory loop – but the Great Fire is still ablaze.  The Olympic flame swept across the country; reminding us that fire is theft.  A dazzling, sensational heist.”

My friends and I stood watching the video installation for the better of half an hour – watching the fire grow and ebb.  We discussed the significance among ourselves and other onlookers.  One individual had done his research and provided us with the artist’s interpretation.  We agreed she made her point. 

It was interesting to see that VANOC had part of its Cultural Olympiad occurring in an area that was ‘off the beaten path’; the Downtown Eastside is a place where vulnerable populations congregate.  To me, the ‘Fire with Fire’ video installation takes on the meaning of the people of live on Vancouver’s downtown eastside – it reminds me that lives are lost on a regular basis in this area.  These deaths are not covered in the paper, or talked about on the nightly news, but they happen.  The people who die have a story and this fire, this destruction, it represents their voice.

What does ‘Fire with Fire’ mean to you?

The Cultural Olympiad and Lunarfest

A close-up of the metal trees and lanterns decorated by children.

My first blog post ever!

Over the next two months, I will be your roving reporter visiting a variety of Olympic and Paralympic sites around the Lower Mainland – for those of you from outside of BC, the Lower Mainland is Vancouver and its surrounding cities, like Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver and Surrey.  If you are from Ontario, you can compare it to the Greater Toronto Area.  These cities that make up the Lower Mainland are hosting a variety of events to celebrate the 2010 Winter Games; my plan is to visit at least one event each week and share my experiences with you.

The Cultural Olympiad is a series of events hosted by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) that features performances and pieces of work from the global arts community.  Check out www.vancouver2010.com/cultural-festivals-and-events/ for more information.

LUNARFEST

On Saturday, I went to LunarFest – a Cultural Olympiad event.  LunarFest is a celebration hosted by the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association that celebrates the Lunar New Year and 2010 Olympic Spirit.  Granville, a major downtown Vancouver street, is closed off for an entire block for this event.  In the centre of the street there are several large lighted sculptures, and several metal ‘trees’ decorated with thousands of lanterns made by school children.  It was beautiful!  The collection of trees created the illusion that we were in a forest far away from the downtown urban core.  See www.lunarfest.org for more details.

I am excited for the unique cultural experiences that go along with being a host city for the Games.  On any given night for the next two months, I can choose from a variety of concerts and plays to attend.  I can take a walk through the downtown and see buildings decorated with large murals, or sculptures on corners.  The Lower Mainland is a cultural showcase for the next two months, and I plan to soak up as much of the global community as I can.

If you have an event suggestion for me, please let me know!  There is SO much going on and I need your help deciding what cultural events to attend.