The Town of Orangeville has been chosen as a “celebration community” by the national torch relay across Canada, leading up to the opening of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The Town will host a regional celebration, bringing together members of the community to produce a two-hour show as torchbearers carry the Olympic Flame into Orangeville.

Residents of Orangeville, anxious to catch the Olympic Spirit, will have the opportunity to see the Olympic Flame in person on December 28, 2009 as it passes through on its way towards the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and RBC, will reach over 90 per cent of Canadians within a one-hour drive.  The torch relay route is available at vancouver2010.com and information on how residents can apply to be torchbearers can be found at icoke.ca and rbc.com/carrythetorch.

“It’s a tremendous honour to be selected as a celebration community along the Olympic Torch Relay route,” Mayor Rob Adams said. “Our regional celebration will highlight the many talents and achievements of area residents. A Community Task Force has been working behind the scenes leading up to this announcement and will lead the planning of the celebration. I encourage people to volunteer their time to assist with the planning and creation of a memorable celebration, to apply to become torchbearers, and to come to Orangeville to see this special once-in-a-generation opportunity. This community’s participation in the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will stand out as a memory to last a lifetime. It will highlight our community and engage our citizens.”

The community celebration will be free of charge to the public. The celebration will be mid-day with a 30-minute official segment provided by VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games).

Canadian choreographer Roland Kirouac has agreed to choreograph the Orangeville celebration. Mr. Kirouac has choreographed some large-scale events, such as the opening ceremonies for Skydome and for the Calgary Olympics. An area resident, Mr. Kirouac choregraphed Shari Lewis’s “Lamb Chops Play Along” television series, the Wayne and Shuster Show, the Bobby Vinton Show, the Pig and Whistle, the national touring show of Garden Bros. Circus, and he owned and operated the Roland and Romaine School of Performing Arts in Toronto for many years. He was the original lead performer in the Ritz Cracker television commercial and was the artistic director for the Canadian Gymnastics Team at the Munich Summer Olympic Games.

To mark the torch relay announcement, the Town of Orangeville has unveiled a new tree sculpture. “The Torchbearer, carved by Howard Greenaway of Innisfil, sits on the boulevard on east Broadway to serve as a reminder of the event being planned for December of 2009.

Residents interested in applying for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame can apply at iCoke.ca or rbc.com/carrythetorch. Coca-Cola and RBC, the relay’s presenting partners, have the exclusive rights for the public to enter the Olympic Torchbearer program and are looking for Canadian applicants who commit to live healthier or are inspired to create a stronger country by volunteering or making sustainable choices. There will be several opportunities to apply for torchbearer spots beginning on November 21, 2008.

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will begin its 106-day Canadian journey on October 30, 2009. The Flame’s pan-Canadian journey will culminate on February 12, 2010 when it arrives in Vancouver for the opening ceremony before a global viewing audience of billions.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay route will be the longest domestic Torch Relay in Olympic history, stretching over 45,000 kilometres throughout Canada. Upon its conclusion, the Olympic Flame will have been welcomed in over 1,000 communities and passed within one hour of more than 90 per cent of the entire Canadian population.

The Government of Canada is a proud supporter of the Olympic Torch Relay, helping to bring the Olympic Flame to as many Canadians as possible.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.