Olympic Torch Coming to Grey Bruce
The Christmas holidays will be extra special this year, because the Olympic Torch Relay is coming to Grey Bruce.
The flame is making its longest domestic journey, covering more than 45 thousand kilometres and visiting every Canadian province and territory.
On December 28th, 2009 the torch arrives in Grey and Bruce Counties. It will visit Durham, Hanover, Walkerton, Kincardine, Tiverton, Port Elgin, Southampton, Saugeen First Nations and Owen Sound.
At two special assemblies, Bluewater students were told Owen Sound has been designated a celebration community because the torch will be spending the night before resuming its trek across the country.
Olympic Judo competitor Kimberly Ribble Orr told students about her experiences in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and members of the local organizing committee talked about the celebration being planned for City Hall Square on December 28th. At the end of the assembly students got a chance to see and touch the torch as Ribble Orr carried it through the auditorium.
"We're hoping people will get really excited about this," says Fred Furness, the chair of the local committee organizing the celebration. A family fun day is planned for Harrison Park on December 27th. The following day's activities are focused in downtown Owen Sound.
"There will be things happening at the big stage behind City Hall starting at 1:00 p.m. on December 28th," Furness says. "The torch will arrive sometime between six and eight o'clock and we're hoping the streets will be lined with people cheering the torch bearer along."
The evening celebrations will be followed with a 6:30 a.m. sunrise sendoff at the Chi Cheemaun the following morning.
The Olympic Torch Relay will last 106 days, passing through more than a thousand Canadian communities. The relay ends February 12th when the torch arrives at the Olympic opening ceremonies in Vancouver.
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