A multicultural children’s parade will be part of the celebration when the Olympic torch is carried through Red Deer on Jan. 15.
Red Deer school children will make their own international flags and symbols, then parade through Westerner Park grounds when an evening of entertainment, snow sculptures, kids’ games and family activities is held from 5 to 9 p.m.
“Many of the schools are already learning about countries that have hosted the Olympics in the past and they’re doing projects on these countries,” said Red Deer Olympic Torch Relay Task Force chair Lyn Radford.
Since city schools were presented with banners for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, Radford said making the students’ cultural awareness part of the torch relay celebration seemed a natural next step.
“They’ll have flags and other cultural things, and they’ll be displaying them in a parade-like atmosphere,” she added — which is in keeping with the international flavour of the Olympics.
The Red Deer Olympic Torch Relay Task Force is eager to stir up some local excitement about the Jan. 15 events, but doesn’t want to let too much information slip too soon. For instance, Radford said on Wednesday that the task force has selected the final local torch bearer, whose job it will be to light up the mini-caldron in Red Deer.
But the person’s name won’t be revealed until closer to the date.
In a similar vein, some celebrity performers have also been scheduled by the Vancouver Olympic Committee to entertain in Red Deer as part of the torch relay, but the headliners also aren’t being announced yet.
The local task force is still looking for local volunteer performers who can help entertain the crowds during the evening celebration.
And some 400 to 500 volunteers are also needed to help with security, to run various events and to help erect the various stations and take them down again once the celebration is over.
Volunteers can fill out forms online at www.reddeer.ca
Speakers from the task force are willing to make presentations about the Jan. 15 event to any local organizations or service clubs that are interested.
To book a speaker, call Gwen Clarke at 403-314-8619.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com