Back to Business - Canadians Are Happy, but Cleaned Up Immediately

We were amazed how once the Closing Ceremonies were over on Sunday night, Canadians removed their red jackets and rolled up their sleeves -- time to clean up, take down exhibits, and get back to everyday life.

Visitors went to get night shots of the Olympic Caudron after the Closing Ceremonies, but the flame had been extinguished (gas turned off). "Live City" venues were closed and dark. No people wearing red -- no sign that the Olympics just ended!

Visit Vancouver!

Winter Olympic Art - Marc Ahr

Artist Marc Ahr attended many of the Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler over the 17 days of the Olympics, rapidly painting a total of 25 watercolor sketches of events. His goal was to complete his sketches in time with the race's winner to add their autograph. We first saw his work in a store window late one evening, then got a glimpse of the artist on the 18th day, when he stopped by Time Frame Gallery in Vancouver. He was exhausted!

We liked them all, but finally settled on a small version of the Closing Ceremonies. See thumbnails of his marathon on Marc's website. I suspect his sketch of the ice hockey game between Canada and Team USA will be most popular! Sketches are available in print and on T-shirts.

Wonder if he will be recuperated in time to paint the Paralympics, two weeks later.

Pins and Pin Trading at Winter Olympics

So many pins, but why not also have versions as ear rings or charm bracelet charms? As is, some are available as zipper pulls or key rings. I'm using a zipper pull charm for my school art projects on my flash drive.

My first Olympic pin trade happened on day #3, while in line for photos of the Olympic Rings in Whistler Village. A little girl and her mom came up to me and politely asked me if I'd like to trade a pin. She was well-prepared. I asked her if she saw a pin she liked on my jacket (where I displayed my duplicate pins), and she said she liked the mascot characters. She was very efficient and business-like, moving to the next person in line and asking permission to trade.

Later that day, an employee for Canada Lines (railroad) traded me a pin for a Canada Lines pin. At a chocolate shop, I was given a pin for their shop. Each time we used VISA credit cards for a meal or gift purchase, we were given several VISA Olympic pins - each featured a mascot character.

Vancouver, CANADA

Walking around Vancouver on the morning after the Winter Olympics' Closing Ceremonies, we thought about our first visit to the city. Here are some observations:

• Easy to get around, walking and on public transportation.
• Clean. Great variety in architecture.
• See-through glass awnings on many stores to provide shelter from the rain.
• Canadians are "friendly to a fault" and even the "out of service" buses say "SORRY".
• City shut down all bar service/liquor store sales at 2pm on two days to keep Canadian ice hockey fans from getting too rowdy.
• All city government and businesses used English and French on all signage.
  
• Tons of tall buildings with mostly glass to capture the fantastic views.
• Many Yellow Cab Toyota PRIUS cars.
• Vancouver is proud to be a "green" city and uses 3 types of recycling bins.
• Vancouver has bicycle lanes and indicates the bike-friendly streets on overhead street signs, including bicycle image.
  

Vancouver Airport (Day After Closing Ceremonies)

The Vancouver Airport braced for the anticipated huge crowd overwhelming the airport at the close of the Winter Olympics. The papers called for visitors to plan 5-4-3-2-1:

• 5 hours before your flight, check flight status
• 4 hours before your flight, head to airport (used train @ about $3 rather than $30 taxi)
  
• 3 hours before your flight, check baggage/go through security
• 2 hours before your flight, SHOP at the many airport stores
• 1 hour before your flight, be at the gate and be ready to board your plane
  

The crowd never materialized. All was calm and efficient. Passenger screening was the most thorough we've ever experienced. Security checkers examined each and every item including wallets -- for each and every passenger. Some lines also included the option of a body "pat down" or body scanner.

Commercials and more

Here is a cute Canadian commercial from 2008, getting Canadians excited about the Olympics.

And check out the Hudson's Bay Company official site. I haven't heard of the company since middle school social studies! It still exists! Check it out. Buy Canada.

Paint the Town Red - Go Canada!

All Canadians were invited to fly the flag, paint your face, make noise.

Party Town Vancouver - LiveCity

Saturday night, the night before the Closing ceremonies, thousands took to the streets to watch fireworks and large outdoor television monitors, listen to loud music, and celebrate. The City of Vancouver, with support from the Government of Canada, hosted two outdoor celebration sites: LiveCity Yaletown and LiveCity Downtown. Canada has won a record number of gold, silver, and bronze medals and their national spirit is soaring. All are dressed in red. Maple leaves are everywhere. All are anticipating the final ice hockey game, which will be between the USA and Canada.

We were encouraged to wear red on Sunday afternoon (in anticipation of Canada winning its national sport). The big game starts at noon. Vancouver's Sunday newspapers were 99% focused on the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the big game. One whole section was devoted to the hockey game. The headline:

ONE GAME. OUR GAME. This is it. Team Canada v. Team USA. The biggest hockey tournament ever. OUR COUNTRY. OUR RINK. OUR GOLD?

Tonight is the Closing Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. CTV, Canada's Olympic Network, is billing the event as the time to "celebrate 17 days that changed Canada forever". Canadian coverage of the Olympics is so much different than American or California coverage, given all the focus is on Canadian athletes, businesses, volunteers, local stories. Canadian coverage, "Memories of 2010", is available on DVD and Blu-ray at CTVOlympics.ca/store

Uniquely Canadian Foods

The Winter Olympics Daily Bulletin listed 15 Canadian Foods. Ever tasted any of these?

• Canada Dry ginger ale: Canada's version of Vernors
  
• Tim Horton's coffee: a Canadian institution and a coffee shop started by a famous hockey player
• Beaver Tails: Fried dough in the shape of a flat beaver tail, topped with sugar, cinnamon, or hazelnut
• Butter tarts: said to be invented in Eastern Ontario around 1915 (like a mini sugar pie)
• Maple Syrup: developed by the Algonquins from the sap of maple trees (Vermont is famous for its Maple Syrup)
• Sugar Pie: single crust pie with a filling made from flour, butter, salt, vanilla, cream, and brown sugar or maple syrup. When baked, these ingredients combine into a homogeneous mixture similar to caramel
• Chocolate Bars: Coffee Crisp, Caramkilk, Aero, Crunchie, Bounty, Crispy Crunch, Smarties
• Flipper pie: Dish made from seal flippers specific to Newfoundland and commonly eaten at Easter
• Pemmican: dried lean meat of wild game that was created by the Cree nation for emergency food
• Montreal style bagels: wood fired, smaller, sweeter and with a larger hole than New York bagels
• Montreal smoked meat: a method of preserving meat that has it's roots in Jewish Europe
• Tourtiere: a traditional French-Canadian meat pie, often served at Christmas
• Peameal Bacon: also known as back bacon or "Canadian bacon", it's the lean ovoid portion of the pig
• Fiddleheads: the unfurled fronds of a young fern commonly used in salads and pasta dishes
• Poutine: french fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy

We have discovered and tasted some fine Canadian wine. As the earth warms, maybe British Columbia will become the Napa of the North.

Go Canada!

Canada is a wonderful neighbor of the U.S.A. We will plan to return. Here are some "little known Canadian facts" from a Vancouver 2010 Daily Bulletin:

• The national animal is the beaver
• The two official sports are lacrosse and hockey
• Canadians consume more Kraft Dinner per capita than any other country in the world
• Canada has more lakes and inland waters than any other country
• Canada has the world's largest coastline at 243,792 kilometers
• Basketball was developed by Canadian James Naismith (when he worked at a YMCA in Massachusetts)
  

Host City READS - Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver Public Library featured a "One Book, One Vancouver" program that included a selection of books and DVDs for children & Young Adults. Children's Librarian Joanne Canow gave me a tour of the library's special display on the Olympics and provided an annotated bibliography of recommended fiction and non-fiction books. This a a perfect and fitting addition to this Winter Olympics blog. (Too bad the tri-fold only is in print!):

FICTION:

1. The Best Figure Skater in the Whole Wide World by Linda Bailey 2008 (easy)
2. Names for Snow by Judi K. Beach 2003
3. That's Hockey by Dave Bouchard 2002
4. The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier 1984
5. Anna's Wish by Bruno Hachler 2008
6. Open Ice by Pat Hughes 2005
7. Maddie in Goal by Louise Leblanc 1992
8. Snowboard Champ by Paul Mantell 2004
9. Miga, Quatchi and Sumi: The Story of the Vancouver 2010 Mascots by Michael Murphy 2007
10. Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins 2003

NON-FICTION:

1. Bobsledding and the Luge by Larry Dane Brimner 1997
2. Skeleton: High-Speed Ice Sliding by Kim Covert 2005
3. Olympic Ice Skating by C. Farbs 2007
4. The History of Figure Skating by Diana Star Helmer 2000
5. Boy in Motion: Rick Hansen's Story by Ainslie Manson 2007
6. Snowboard!: Your Guide to Freeriding, Pipe & Park, Jibbing, Backcountry, Alpine, Boardercross and More by Joy Masoff 2002
7. Pink Power: The First Women's World Hockey Champions by Lorna Schultz Nicholson 2007
8. Let's Go Snowboarding by Suzanne Slade 2007
9. How Hockey Works by Keltie Thomas 2006
10. A Basic Guide to Bobsledding by U.S. Olympic Committee 2002
11. The Encyclopedia of the Winter Olympics by John F. Wukovits 2001
12. The Crazy Canucks: The Uphill Battle of Canada's Downhill Ski Team by Eric Zweig 2008