VICTORIA — If you want to get a taste of the Winter Olympics before February, the Olympic torch relay will start in Victoria on Friday after the torch arrives from Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics.
In the cross-country relay, more than 12,000 torchbearers will carry the lit torch throughout Canada by land, air and water for 28,000 miles over 106 days.
Ends in Vancouver
The relay will finish in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Feb. 12 at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
In Victoria, the torch-relay celebration begins at 10 a.m. on Friday on the lawns of the Parliament Buildings fronting Victoria’s Inner Harbour, where the Port Angeles-Victoria ferry MV Coho lands.
Runners then will start carrying the torch through Victoria and suburban areas at about 10:40 a.m.
The route can be seen on the Internet at www.victoriaspirit.ca/relay.
Victoria’s major torch-relay celebration will be Friday evening on the Parliament lawn.
It will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The free event will include concerts, from classical and jazz to First Nations drummers, plus a multimedia show that will bathe the buildings in lights and images.
Runners will carry the torch back to the Parliament Buildings at about 7.30 p.m. to light an Olympic caldron.
For more details, click on www.victoriaspirit.ca.
For Victoria information, see www.tourismvictoria.com or phone 800-663-3883.
Some hotels are offering special promotions timed with the torch relay.
The Coho has two sailings daily from Port Angeles to Victoria — at 8:20 a.m. and 2 p.m.
It leaves Victoria to return to Port Angeles at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
