For seven years Vancouverites have been anticipating the 2010 Winter Olympics (in either a positive or negative way). On February 12th, 2007 the official countdown clock for the Olympic and Paralympic Games was installed outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. Over the last two years it’s been counting down to this single day, and a single moment in time that will happen tonight at BC Place.
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Photo by Miss604 on Flickr
I know a series of clock photos isn’t the most exciting (and as you can see it doesn’t snow that much) but it’s what this timepiece symbolizes that matters. The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games are here, and this is one excited city.
The Olympics is in itself a family friendly event. However, if you’re wondering about what activities would be fun to do with your kids, here are a few suggestions:
The Robson Square Zipline:
Whistler’s Ziptrek Ecotours has installed a 170 meter zipline across Robson Square from the top of the law courts to the south-east corner of the Vancouver Art Gallery. It will be up throughout the Games from February 12 to 28th, from 10am to 9pm, and it’s FREE to the public! If you and your kids are up for an adventure, THIS is the place to go! I highly recommend arriving early, as the lineups for this unique activity will be long! (It isn’t everyday that you can zipline through the city!) They plan on shooting 70 people down the line each hour, so chances sound pretty good that the lineup will move quite quickly! So come early and have FUN!!
Robson Square Skating Rink
The General Electric sponsored open-air skating rink at Robson Square is a super fun activity for the whole family! It is open from 9am to 9pm throughout the Games. Bring your own skates or rent a pair for only $3. Admission to the rink itself is free! The rink is out doors, but in a covered area so a fun activity, rain or shine
Coca-Cola Pavilion
The Coca-Cola is an amazing and fun place for people of all ages. I was privileged to get a sneak peak at the pavilion before it opened and was amazed by what I found inside. You will learn about the history of Coca-Cola’s involvement in the Olympics from the 1990′s to present. Included in this is a display of the Olympic torches of each Games Coca-Cola has been involved in. Very Cool!! Next you will be invited to watch a video of the torch relay, and then they will let you loos in the main room of the pavilion to enjoy an ice cold Coca-Cola and participate in several cool activities, including having your photo taken with an official torch of the 2010 Games. The Coca-Cola Pavilion is a MUST SEE as far as I’m concerned! The Pavilion is located at LiveCity Yaletown at David Lam Park.
To see the photos of my “sneak peak,” and to get a better idea of what to expect, please visit Flickr.
Canada’s Northern House
A very cool Canadian cultural activity would be to check out Canada’s Northern House. Located at the corner of Seymour and West Hastings, the Northern House give the public a taste of the culture in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, as well as Nunavut. For more information about the Northern House, please visit the website at http://www.canadasnorth.com.
The OZone
The OZone is located in Richmond, near the Olympic Oval at Minoru Park. From February 12 to 28, the O Zone will be an awesome destination to celebrate the Olympic Games, watch Olympic events on the huge screens, watch live entertainment, and participate in many family activities. Included at the OZone are activities from outdoor skating, to participating in the BCLC virtual reality sporting events, to learning about the different regions of British Columbia, to the World Ice Art Championships! There will be fireworks and theme nights at this venue as well! For more information, visit the website at http://www.richmondozone.com.
These are only a few of the many many family fun activities you will find around the city during the 2010 Games! The list is endless! There are things for all ages to join in the Olympic spirit. So bring your kids out and HAVE FUN!!!
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are upon us and things are heating up around Vancouver. You can feel the energy in the city as all the last minute details are pulled together for this huge event. The team at Static Photography has been out and about making photos of all the action and we have pulled together some of our favorites. You can find more Vancouver 2010 photos than you know what to do with here, but for now check out this first week of February in Vancouver with the Winter Olympic Games just around the corner.
We got a tour of Prince George, starting first with speed skating lessons from the speed skating youth team. These kids are fast!
Rebecca Bollwitt, otherwise known as Miss604, was up in Prince George for the winter adventures. Rebecca is a Vancouver blogger who will be covering the Olympic Games.
Dog-sledding was a great way to travel the back country of Prince George.
Prince George has a huge ancient forest with trees that are hundreds of years old. Static Photography’s Kris Krüg had a chance to prove his strength by holding up this fallen tree.
The ancient forest in Prince George provided a great canopy for the long winter hike.
The Prince George Coldsnap Music Festival showcases some of the best in Canadian musical talent. The Great Lake Swimmers were at the festival this year, headlining the main night.
The BC Cups #2 Cross-country Skiing event happened took place in Prince George. This event was all ages and the competition was strong even in the snowfall.
The Torch was traveling through Prince George in its journey through Canada. This is the passing of the Olympic flame from one torch bearer to another torch bearer, which is called a ‘kiss’.
There was a festive torch celebration when the Olympic flame was brought Prince George. The entire town was a captive audience when the Prince George cauldron was light by the Olympic flame.
Premier Gordon Campbell is obviously the Olympics biggest fan and has travelled around the country following the torch along its journey.
The Richmond Oval is a venue that was built specifically for the Olympic Games. This venue will hold the speed-skating events.
GM Place will be renamed Canada Hockey Place during the Olympic Games. All of the hockey events will be held at this venue during February.
Many changes have taken place in Vancouver during the preparation for the Olympic Games. A long standing Beatty Street mural was covered in the prep but is being repainted by local Vancouver artists.
This is the CODE Live 1 at Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver. Wang Yuyang is showcasing his media installation Artifical Moon, which illuminates the entryway of CODE Live 1.
The 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad has some public art installations around the city. One of these art installations is Fire with Fire by Isabelle Hayeur and is located in the W2 Woodward’s building.
The 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad has curated over 60 days of arts, theatre and dance performances. The opening weekend showcased Elizabeth Streb’s show Streb: RAW with its amazing acrobatic feats of human flight.
We spent the weekend in Whistler with Tourism BC. Chris has been making videos while following the Torch through its journey of Canada.
The Peak to Peak Gondola takes you from the top of the Whistler Mountain to the top of the Blackcomb Mountain. This was part of our snowboard adventure with Tourism BC.
The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games will officially be here in the city in less than a week. We can’t wait to see what Vancouver has in store when the Games are finally here!
Definitely make sure to check back for more photo essays during the month of February!
Here is a slideshow of the images from this photo essay. Feel free to share this on your blogs and your networks under a Creative Commons license. Please make sure to link back to Static Photography!
Thanks!
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are upon us and things are heating up around Vancouver. You can feel the energy in the city as all the last minute details are pulled together for this huge event. The team at Static Photography has been out and about making photos of all the action and we have pulled together some of our favorites. You can find more Vancouver 2010 photos than you know what to do with here, but for now check out this first week of February in Vancouver with the Winter Olympic Games just around the corner.
We got a tour of Prince George, starting first with speed skating lessons from the speed skating youth team. These kids are fast!
Rebecca Bollwitt, otherwise known as Miss604, was up in Prince George for the winter adventures. Rebecca is a Vancouver blogger who will be covering the Olympic Games.
Dog-sledding was a great way to travel the back country of Prince George.
Prince George has a huge ancient forest with trees that are hundreds of years old. Static Photography’s Kris Krüg had a chance to prove his strength by holding up this fallen tree.
The ancient forest in Prince George provided a great canopy for the long winter hike.
The Prince George Coldsnap Music Festival showcases some of the best in Canadian musical talent. The Great Lake Swimmers were at the festival this year, headlining the main night.
The BC Cups #2 Cross-country Skiing event happened took place in Prince George. This event was all ages and the competition was strong even in the snowfall.
The Torch was traveling through Prince George in its journey through Canada. This is the passing of the Olympic flame from one torch bearer to another torch bearer, which is called a ‘kiss’.
There was a festive torch celebration when the Olympic flame was brought Prince George. The entire town was a captive audience when the Prince George cauldron was light by the Olympic flame.
Premier Gordon Campbell is obviously the Olympics biggest fan and has travelled around the country following the torch along its journey.
The Richmond Oval is a venue that was built specifically for the Olympic Games. This venue will hold the speed-skating events.
GM Place will be renamed Canada Hockey Place during the Olympic Games. All of the hockey events will be held at this venue during February.
Many changes have taken place in Vancouver during the preparation for the Olympic Games. A long standing Beatty Street mural was covered in the prep but is being repainted by local Vancouver artists.
This is the CODE Live 1 at Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver. Wang Yuyang is showcasing his media installation Artifical Moon, which illuminates the entryway of CODE Live 1.
The 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad has some public art installations around the city. One of these art installations is Fire with Fire by Isabelle Hayeur and is located in the W2 Woodward’s building.
The 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad has curated over 60 days of arts, theatre and dance performances. The opening weekend showcased Elizabeth Streb’s show Streb: RAW with its amazing acrobatic feats of human flight.
We spent the weekend in Whistler with Tourism BC. Chris has been making videos while following the Torch through its journey of Canada.
The Peak to Peak Gondola takes you from the top of the Whistler Mountain to the top of the Blackcomb Mountain. This was part of our snowboard adventure with Tourism BC.
The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games will officially be here in the city in less than a week. We can’t wait to see what Vancouver has in store when the Games are finally here!
Definitely make sure to check back for more photo essays during the month of February!
Here is a slideshow of the images from this photo essay. Feel free to share this on your blogs and your networks under a Creative Commons license. Please make sure to link back to Static Photography!
The House of Switzerland opened its doors to the public for the first time, in both Vancouver and Whistler on February 5th. Vancouver Access was privileged to be invited to the opening celebration.
The Swiss House is situated at Bridges Restaurant on Granville Island. The lineup to get a first look at the cultural House was out the door!
The opening was celebrated with delicious Swiss foods, chocolate, wine, music and much more! The House will be serving meals, so make your reservations now!
The House also has a media room set up to cover the Games and will have several screens set up, covering events through the Swiss television station as well as local official Olympic television station, CTV. They bragged that the Swiss station would not show nearly as many commercials throughout their coverage, as North American stations would!
The House of Switzerland will be open until February 28th. I highly recommend you go check it out and experience how the Swiss culture celebrates Olympic excitement!
For more information about the House of Switzerland, visit the Official Website!
