Remnants from the day.

The anti-Olympic protests starting up on Georgia.

This was definitely a must-go attraction for parents to take their children. All I heard when the mascots came onto the ice were kids screaming “MIIIGAAA!! QUAAATCHI!! SUUUUMI!”, and holding the matching keychain mascots. They would go crazy just to get a hug :-) Who can resist a big living furry mascot after all :-)

I can still remember the day… there were people bustling everywhere.. it was the first time that I had seen downtown Vancouver come alive. People shouting “Go Canada Go!” and singing the anthem, and a sea of red clothes. I headed down to the GE plaza to see what was going on. Zip-liners, people watching performances, ice skaters, and many many people taking photos.

To be continued…

I’ve seen the torch at UBC already, but since it was a nice day without rain, how could I miss this opportunity! I followed the torch that day on the online streaming webcam, and rushed into downtown when it was being carried across False Creek. I got there with about 10 minutes before the torch rolled through, and wedged myself right on the side of the street to actually see it pass right in front of me – quite the luck!

By the time the torch ended up in its final cauldron in front of QE Theatre, the entire street corner had been packed! See for yourself!

I ran from my first torch exchange position to here… and the torch is in sight again! :-D

My failed attempt at capturing the flame passing by the crowd… because I forgot to switch from MF to AF, and had to hold it far above my head :-(

Since the torch bearer was way too far from where I was.. this was the second best view of the lighting of the community cauldron!

The first part of the show was done inside the library, then moving to the North face, and finishing off at the South side – it definitely drew a large crowd. There were four free shows after dark, complete with a live orchestra which they synced their choreograph to.

It’s pretty amazing how no one has ever thought of using the beautiful structure of the VPL as part of a performance. You certainly don’t get people climbing the windows and prancing sideways on the exterior walls everyday. They do it almost effortlessly, but I can just imagine the amount of rehearsals they would need to do off a cliff. In fact, if I look at them sideways, it would look like they were just dancing on the ground! I don’t have any videos of it, but you should search on YouTube for it :-)

In addition to the lanterns that the elementary school kids made, there were also bigger themed lanterns by Canadian and Taiwanese artists in what’s called “Love, Life and Light”. They look even better at night, which I will be posting later!

Mukmuk says “Ooo it’s a shame the Olympics are over already! Goodbye!”

Mukmuk so cute.