Inaugrual Lighting of Canadian flag installation
Aaron Jasper, Chair of VPB with light installation and Canadian flag
OK here we go, The 2010 Winter Games have started. Buckle up for all the feel good events that are going to fill you with national pride in the days to come. Pivot has launch its Red Tent Campaign to build support for a national housing plan today.Pivot Legal WebsitePivot has 500 red tents that they are going to distribute to folks who cannot find a place in a shelter.Tyee Story about red tentsAlthough the city has open a number of new “emergency shelter” this year there still is not enough spaces for everyone who is homeless in this city.
Vancouver is a city of contradictions, great wealth and geographic beauty mixed with extreme poverty and homelessness. While everyone wants to be proud of our home town and national, we also need to remind ourselves that we still have a long way to go to being a just and equitable civil society.
The Olympics is going to be an awkward mix of national pride and shame all balled up to a blur of two weeks. The city already seems to be buzzing with visitors starting to arrive and the distribution of big “ask me” buttons at the community centres.
Today we light a big flag in Stanley Park, but also many folks will be sleeping in Pivot red tents tonight.
Inaugural Lighting of Canadian Flag Installation
at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park on Monday, January 25
In the spirit of the upcoming 2010 Winter Games and to show off our national pride, Park Board staff have designed and installed a Canadian flag display for Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park. The public and media are invited to the inaugural lighting.
Inaugural Lighting
5:00 pm
Monday, January 25
Lost Lagoon
Best viewing from in front of the Nature House
(at the foot of Chilco Street)
The display features a 12 by 6 foot Canadian flag on a 52 foot pole surrounded at the base by a bed of white energy-efficient S.L.E.D. (seasonal light-emitting diodes) and three 36 watt L.E.D. spotlights. The location was chosen because the Stanley Park Causeway is a primary gateway into and out of the City. The display will be lit every night from dusk to dawn during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The Board wishes to thank Coca-Cola Bottling Company for funding the project through the Park Board’s Corporate Sponsorship Program.