Olympic Flame Arrives In La Ronge Tomorrow

November 6, 2009

The Olympic Torch Relay will be given a warm northern welcome in La Ronge tomorrow

The Olympic torch is making its first visit to Saskatchewan in advance of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Tomorrow, La Ronge and area residents will celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Torch. The celebrations start at 11 a.m. but events go on all morning beginning with an 8 a.m. breakfast and a 10 a.m. parade.”It’s been a long time coming and it’s great that the Olympic flame first touches down in Saskatchewan in the north, where the excitement and welcoming spirit of the people is so evident,” Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Dustin Duncan said. “I hope that the people across the province will be inspired by the Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic spirit shows what can be accomplished by dedication and hard work.”

La Ronge is one of nine celebration communities designated by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee along the official route of the Olympic Torch Relay. Each celebration community will host unique celebrations and activities when the Olympic flame passes through.

“We are very excited and honoured to be the first Saskatchewan community the Torch stops in,” La Ronge Community Task Force Chair Tammy Fiske said. “The people of the area are working hard to make this a memory that will last for years to come. Saskatchewan’s Torch Relay will shine a light on our fabulous community and help attract more tourists to Saskatchewan’s beautiful north.”

The government of Saskatchewan has contributed $45,000 to each celebration community to help them host events around the Olympic Torch Relay and encourage people to get involved in sport, arts or cultural activities. The communities will also spend part of that money on a ‘legacy item’ that will remain in the community long after the Torch has passed through. La Ronge is building a large Inukshuk, the symbol of the 2010 Winter Games and a stainless steel rendition of the Paralympics symbol as its legacy.

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will travel 45,000 kilometres and visit every Canadian province and territory. The Olympic flame will return to Saskatchewan on January 9, 2010, visiting eight more Saskatchewan communities on its way west.

For an interactive map of the route of the Olympic Torch Relay visit http://www.vancouver2010.com

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For more information, contact:

Janet Peters
Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4967
Email: janet.peters[at]gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-533-4909