The Olympics are only three months away, but the torch is on its way through Drumheller in just 59 days.
Drumheller has shined as an Olympic Torch Relay Celebration Community, and come January 16, 2010 it will take centre stage as the Olympic Torch is brought through Drumheller on its way to the Vancouver 2010 games.
Tickets will be available staring next week to join in the celebration at The Canadian Badlands Passion Play Site.
According to John Sparling, co-chair of the committee, the team that has been assembled has been working hard on the event, and they have been taking care of all the details from marketing, promotion, safety and security and complying with the guidelines of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.
Many of the details about the January 16 event are falling into place. All kinds of entertainment and on site activities are being planned to make this a once in a lifetime family event, and tickets are expected to be in high demand.
The committee has planned to distribute the tickets at four different locations over the course of three weeks to allow members of the community to get in on the action.
Sparling says while the tickets are free, there is only a limited number that will be available.
“We are extremely lucky the event is on a Saturday and close to the Olympics,” said Sparling, as the games begin on February 12, 2010, just weeks after the Drumheller event.
“For people picking up the tickets, we are asking for a moral commitment to go,” said Sparking.
Tickets will be available next Saturday, November 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m at Freson IGA. The next Saturday, on December 5 they will be at Extra Foods in Drumheller and at the Hanna Mall. On Saturday, December 12 there will be tickets available at Drumheller Co-op.
‘It is important for us to make this accessible, to the public as a whole,” said Sparling, saying that is why they have planned to distribute tickets at peak periods at high traffic areas.
On the day of the event the organizers are hoping families will take in all there is to offer, and show up early. Onsite there will all kinds of displays and activities to people entertained until the main event begins. Major national sponsors of the event, Coca Cola and RBC Financial, will have a major presence on site. They have planned a efficient park and ride shuttle bus system that will be departing from Freson IGA and Drumheller Canadian Tire parking lots. This will allow people to get to the site easily without having to endure traffic snarls, or end up walking a long distance in January temperatures.
Information on the shuttle will be provided along with the tickets upon pick up. Watch in The Drumheller Mail and inSide Drumheller for more news as the Olympic Torch Relay Celebration draws near.
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