Olympic Torch in Sooke: Sat. Oct.31
Rainfall and flame
PART
1 - At the Sooke Fire Hall
The Olympic Torch came through Sooke on Sat. October 31, starting at 7 am at Sooke Fire Hall. Mayor Janet Evans presided briefly over a ceremony with Scottish pipes band, sports team youth reps, and a 1-minute video of the pole-climbing loggers of days gone by -- before the loud and flashy Coca Cola and RBC trucks took over the show and stole the crowds to the streetside (perhaps intentionally, due to worries about protestors that had intervened at Olympic ceremonies in other locations). Meanwhile, the torch was being lit inside the fire hall and -- after some photo ops for the TV and newspaper media -- was carried down Otter Point Road toward its Sooke destination at Derbend Road (before leaving Sooke on the next leg of its journey).
About 300 people came out in pre-dawn dampness to find the skies opening with rain just as the ceremonies began. After the torch had left the station carried by Tanya Logan, so had the rainfall.
Fire Chief Steve Sorensen said, "Well, now we get busy planning for the Halloween haunted house event for tonight," but was pleased with the excitement that had transpired at the station and the number of volunteer firefighters who had come out.
For quiet rural Sooke there was relatively heavy police security along the torch route.
~ Story PART 1 (and photos) by Mary P. Brooke
PART 2 - Torch runner
welcomed by youth choir
It was an excited crowd of spectators that gathered on the morning
of Saturday, October 31along Sooke Road (across from EMCS); eagerly
awaiting the first sighting of the Olympic Torch that had started its
journey at the Sooke Fire Hall at 7 am. Possibly most excited of all
were the students who had come together to form a massive choir,
representing elementary schools from Sooke to Port Renfrew. Neither the
torrential rain nor the biting wind dampened the spirits of these
children who, with bright little faces, lined the bleachers along Sooke Road across from EMCS school. Led by Calaedonia Robertson, the
choir burst into their Olympic song (written by Robertson) in an attempt
to get the crowd to “come join the party”. Their efforts were certainly
rewarded as Robertson said they “sang the rain away”.
The song was a positive community-builder. "My inspiration for the song was to represent a party or celebration while bringing in the Sooke pride with lines such as nature is our stage", said Robertson, who had been asked to write the song by Ecole Poirier Elementary principal Laurie Szadkowski.
Pride and excitement swept the crowd as Fred Blue burst through proudly carrying the Olympic Torch. The flame illuminated the dark morning, representing the hopes and dreams of many Canadians, as it was carried down the road to the delight of onlookers. Blue said he was running for his kids and that it was “all about bringing the light into the community”.
The Torch has been a recognized symbol for the Olympics since Ancient
Greece, where the flame was kept burning to symbolize the theft of fire
from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus. The pride has been passed down
from generation to generation, as is shown with one of the choir members
Rori Wood (John Muir Elementary), who was wearing a toque, from the 1988
Olympics. A relative of Wood's (Bob Gyurkovits) ran with the torch in
1988; she said that it was “cool” to see the torch because it was “the
only time it would come through Sooke and it feels like history”. Wood
was joined by Mikayla Tracy (Sooke Elementary) who said that it was “fun
and exciting to see the torch” and that the “song was awesome”.
Blue was extremely accessible to the crowd, as they eagerly snapped
photos to document this rare opportunity. It was a united community that
surrounded Blue and the torch as the clouds lifted and the sun began to
shine. The spectators moved across the road to EMCS where they were
greeted with a community breakfast (organized by Peter Wilford and the
EMCS Culinary Arts class) and entertainment from local Sooke musicians.
As people warmed up with hot chocolate and coffee it certainly felt like
a great day to be a Canadian in Sooke, as this small community was given
an honoured glimpse into the world of the Olympics and the magic of the
Torch.
~ Story PART 2 by Kim Restall; photos by Curtis Macmillan
See official announcement memo including torch route viewing locations.
Click here to see pre-event bulletins and earlier stories about the Olympic Torch in Sooke.
These articles are Copyright 2009 Brookeline Publishing House Inc.