The City of Lacombe is excited to be one of the Central Alberta stops on the national torch relay before the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
On February 2, a torchbearer will stop in Lacombe, after first going through Rimbey (on Jan. 23), Blackfalds (on Jan. 29) and Olds (on Jan. 31). The torch will continue to make stops in Sylvan Lake on Feb. 5 and Ponoka on Feb. 7 before lighting up the cauldron in the host city of Red Deer on Feb. 15 to officially start the Games.
“On behalf of Council, I thank the organizing committee for selecting Lacombe as a MNP Canada Games Torch Relay Stop,” said Lacombe Mayor Grant Creasey. “We eagerly anticipate the arrival of the torch relay in Lacombe, and we look forward to a very successful Canada Games in Red Deer.”
The MNP Canada Games Torch Relay officially starts in Ottawa from the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill on October 4, 2018, and visits 48 communities across Canada before arriving in Red Deer for the opening ceremony.
Torch relay stops will be the scenes of community celebrations. Each community typically has 10 to 15 torchbearers, including current or past residents,. Each torchbearer will complete a leg of the relay carrying the Roly McLenahan Canada Games Torch and then take part in photo-ops and community recognition opportunities.
Torchbearers will be selected following a nomination process that opened on May 15. Central Albertans can nominate a deserving, past or present community member or themselves by completing the application form online at www.canadagames.ca/2019/mnptorchrelay.
Nominations will be accepted until June 30 at 4 p.m.
The 2019 Games will announce torchbearers publicly in September. For the more information, please visit www.canadagames.ca/2019/mnptorchrelay.
From Feb. 15 until March 3 2019, Red Deer will host the largest multi-sport and cultural event for youth in Canada. For more information on the 2019 Canada Winter Games, please visit www.canadagames.ca/2019.