Update on Ottawa’s Olympic Torch Relay and Christmas Light celebration

Remember last month when I mentioned that the Christmas Lights Across Canada program (where each year hundreds of thousands of lights throughout downtown Ottawa are launched with a special lighting ceremony on Parliament Hill) will this year coincide with the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay? Pretty cool stuff, eh? Well, the National Capital Commission noticed that post, too, and offered me some of their official publicity material to share with you.

Here’s the official details of the event taking place this Saturday night, December 12, on Parliament Hill:

Starting at 5:30 pm, be part of history alongside thousand of Canadians gathered to take in a unique evening of free activities, featuring internationally renowned artists like Gregory Charles and Tom Cochrane.

Olympic medalists for Canada, Nathalie Lambert and Steve Podborski, Chef de Mission and Assistant Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team, are the distinguished masters of ceremony for this spectacular event.

Gregory Charles, composer of the official community celebrations theme song, will conduct a choir composed of 100 singers from the region. Following these performances, the crowd will be captivated by an aboriginal dance choreography interpreted by artists from many parts of Canada. The festivities will end with a performance by Tom Cochrane.

The evening culminates with the arrival of the Olympic Torch and the illumination of the Christmas lights at 7 pm. The final torchbearer will be Joé Juneau, 1992 Albertville Olympic medallist and former Montréal Canadiens team member. He will have the honour of lighting the Olympic Flame in the Capital.

Hot chocolate and BeaverTails® pastries will be offered from 5 pm to 8 pm (while quantities last).

Sounds like a fun night! If you can’t make it downtown for the Christmas Light/Torch Relay ceremony, you can use this interactive map to see if and when the Olympic Torch Relay will pass near your neighbourhood. Ottawa, Kanata, Gatineau, Buckingham, Hawkesbury, Almonte, Renfrew and Highway 17 all the way up to Pembroke are on the route over the course of three days from December 11 through 13.

And if you just can’t get enough of all things related to the NCC’s sponsorship of this event, you can take a look at the pix in the official Flickr account and this YouTube video. Props to the NCC for embracing social media, but I’m hoping the content gets a little less, um, official as the Olympic Torch passes through!

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