Torch magic

This is a guest post from Clairlea School Council secretary Christina Mark. 

There are many moments in life that take our breath away.  There are many events throughout the course of our lives which we attend that make us feel a sense of pride and unity.  But how many of these moments and events which we have experienced can we say have historical value?  If you are lucky, you can say, “One.” 

We here at Clairlea PS in Toronto, Ontario are very lucky.  Many of us took the opportunity to witness the Olympic Torch Lighting Ceremony at Nathan Phillips Square on December 17, 2009. 

The lights around the square dangled and glistened over our heads as we made our way off the bus and toward the stage.  The clear night’s sky was the perfect blackened backdrop for the spotlights to proclaim our presence to the nation and the world.

The torch is coming through Toronto!

Around 70 of us from Clairlea were caught up in the magic of it all.  Parents, children, even teenagers were buzzing with anticipation.   We all proudly wore our custom-made purple Clairlea toques, signatured with a maple leaf.  We held tightly to our bags of popcorn and waved our mini-Canadian flags.  We also shook our tambourines provided to everyone by the RBC. 

The pride was reverberated throughout the entire arena, from the ice skaters, to the event coordinators, to the media, a sense of community could be felt throughout.

We made our way toward the stage and, as we had arrived with plenty of time to spare, we found a nice niche at the very front and spread ourselves out, claiming our territory.  We met up with Councillor Adrian Heaps from our ward and furnished him with his own Clairlea toque, which he wore on stage while delivering his speech!  We felt so honoured to be represented in such a large scale.

Before the performances and arrival of the lit torch, our group had the chance to hold and pose with one of the torches that the flame would be passed onto!  What an incredible and truly awesome opportunity to feel the sleekness of the Olympic torch beneath our fingers!  We could see the 2010 Olympic emblem, the Inuit Inukshuk, very clearly as it was only a few inches from ourselves. 

It was so exhilarating to know that this seemingly simple apparatus was being passed all across the country and represented what every Canadian wanted the world to feel:  unity, strength, pride.

Many of us were also interviewed by the different stations in Toronto and we all reflected this outlook in our answers.

The ceremonies began with songs about Toronto, as well as the blessing of a First Nations Aboriginal, Elder Alex Jacobs.  What a beautiful way to reiterate our message and to show our respect to the land we all share together.

The performances that night were a wonderful collaboration of dance, art and imagery.  There was the woman who danced with hoops, folding herself into and out of them while dancing and jumping, creating illustrations with the background of drummers and other dancers.

The choreography of COBA, the Collective of Black Artists, the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company and the Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre flit before our eyes and entertained our senses with colour and sound.

A beautiful performance by Spirit Synott, whose interpretive dance showed us that art and beauty can be displayed, even when one has a disability.  She was full of grace as she glided herself across the stage while out of her wheelchair and also used her chair as an accessory to her presentation, dancing with it and creating movement within the soul.  She brought with her the conjunction of the Olympic Games with the Paralympic Games.

The Coca-Cola act got the crowed hyped as the MC got us jumping and singing while the people on stage showed us an array of acrobatics, drumming and hip-hop-style dancing.

The RBC wowed us with a surprising quartet of violinists while an artist painted a picture during the performance to auction off at a later time.

A huge trampoline was set up and a demonstration was given by snowboarders of the many tricks we will have the opportunity to see during the Olympic games.

While the performances were enjoyable our excitement and anticipation were growing as the time for the torch to arrive at Nathan Phillips Square drew closer and then passed.  Due to protests of the Olympic Games, the torch was nearly an hour late, but the performers and MCs did a fantastic job keeping us entertained and our hopes alive. 

Finally the torch arrived.  It made its way down the centre of the crowd.  We cheered and jumped and clapped and screamed. 

The coldness and numbness that went through our bones was replaced with electricity.

The torch was brought to the podium and we all watched as the orange glow from the flame roared its message.

This is Unity.

This is Pride.

This is Tradition and History.

With Glowing Hearts.

These are the Olympics.

GO TEAM CANADA!

Thank you, Christina, for writing this post and sharing your Olympic Torch experience with us!