Etchings on the Attic Wall

The Winter Olympics is coming to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada!  It will be held from February 12-28, 2010 and is the third Olympics hosted by Canada.  The nearby town of Whistler will also be hosting some of the events.  The venues in Vancouver include BC Place Stadium, Richard Olympic Oval, UBC Winter Sports Centre, Cypress Mountain, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, and GM Place.  The venues in Whistler include Whistler Olympic Park, Whistler Sliding Centre, and Whistler Blackcomb.  There are 86 winter sporting events that have been announced for these games, so all of these venues will get a lot of use!  Here are just a few of them that you might be able to get tickets to see: Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Luge, Short Track Speed Skating, Ski Jumping, Speed Skating, Curling, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Sledge Hockey, Nordic Combined, Skeleton, Snowboard, and Wheelchair Curling.  Leading up to the start of the Olympics, if you live in Canada, try to catch the Torch Relay.  It is the longest relay in history run within the borders of the host country.  The torch will pass through over 1,000 communities and be carried by about 12,000 torchbearers!

You should also try and attend some of the many celebrations and ceremonies that will be taking place.  There is, of course, the opening and closing ceremonies which will be taking place in BC Place.  This is apparently the first time in history (in any Olympics) that these 2 ceremonies will be taking place indoors.  There are also Victory Ceremonies that will be taking place every night with medal presentations followed by a live concert.  The Vancouver Games will also be holding a festival called the Cultural Olympiad.  This festival features artists from all over the world and includes performances of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literary arts, and film.

Want to get away from all the gaming excitement for a while?  British Columbia is renowned for its ski resorts, cities, islands, and restaurants.  Depending how far away you want to travel, they have 6 main regions to explore: 1) Vancouver Island, 2) Vancouver, Coast and Mountains, 3) Northern BC, 4) Thompson Okanagan, 5) Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, and 6) Kootenay Rockies.  If you want to stay close, the Vancouver area has plenty of skiing, snowboarding, golfing, river rafting, shopping, and great dining.

If you are a fan of the Olympic games and watch them every year, why not go see one live?  They sound like a lot of fun and I bet it is an experience you won’t soon forget.