Paralympic Torch in Greater Victoria
07.03.2010Trevor Greene, a former Canadian Forces reservist, and Paralympian Stephanie Dixon were amongst the Torch Bearers on 6 March, moving the Paralymic Flame on its fourth day through Canada, cheered by numerous fans in the streets.
According to the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), the crowds in Greater Victoria were the largest and most enthusiastic yet for the relay that began Wednesday in Ottawa before moving on to Quebec City and Toronto.
The flame has been lit anew in each city so far. On Saturday, Songhees elder Mike Charlie Sr. and his son, Mike Jr., sparked the day’s flame by putting a lighter to split cedar and newspaper. About 375 people gathered at Archie Browning Centre in Esquimalt for a free pancake breakfast hosted by the Esquimalt Lions Club and to meet the torchbearers who would carrying torch in loops around Bullen Park.
The Paralympic Flame, which has no ancestral home, started its 10 day journey on 3 March on Victoria Island. More than 600 torchbearers will proudly carry the flame during the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada and the Province of BC. The Paralympic Torch visits 11 communities, culminating in the lighting of the Paralympic Cauldron at BC Place in downtown Vancouver on 12 March 2010.
For more information about the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, please visit www.vancouver2010.com.
