Crowds cheer Olympic torch in Edmonton

EDMONTON – A chilly Churchill Square was transformed into a massive spectacle of patriotic spirit Wednesday evening, as thousands of Edmontonians turned out to see the arrival of the Olympic torch.

Flashbulbs popped, hands clapped and flags waved as 1960s Olympian Doreen Ryan ran the final few metres into the packed square and used the torch to set ablaze the "celebration cauldron."

It was an experience she said she will never forget.

"The joy, the hollering and the spirit. I just soaked it all up like a sponge. It was like a gold medal, and then some."

The rally served as the grand finale on a day that saw the torch travel from Lloydminster to Edmonton. The Journal was there, every step of the way, and as the torch reached the city our reporters and photographers were there to capture the excitement. Here’s what they saw and heard:

– -4:06 p.m. Mark Kachmarchyk

shows up at 116th Avenue and Groat Road wearing a Mark Messier Oilers jersey, after he hears Pat Quinn will be carrying the Olympic torch. His friend Ian Buchwald has a gold Team Canada jersey on with Quinn’s name emblazoned across the back in black hockey tape. "I’m pretty jacked," Mark says. "Pat Quinn’s my hero."

– -4:15 p.m. Crowds dressed in red and white start to gather at the entrance to Hawrelak Park, the first stop on the torch’s journey through Edmonton. Among the first to arrive are Isabelle Dugo and her 14-year niece, Constanza Schorr, who is visiting from Chile.

"I wanted to have her cheer for Canada, my second country," Dugo says.

Bundled up, Schorr still seems to be shivering. Speaking in Spanish, she says she rarely gets a chance to see the Winter Olympics in South America, but hopes to catch some of the snowboarding this year.

"This is very cold for her," her aunt says. "It’s summertime right now in Chile."

– -4:27 p.m. The thump of drums fills the air outside the University of Alberta Butterdome, where a group of native dancers in traditional costumes perform on 87th Avenue. Down the road, past the university’s cheerleaders and mascots, a dozen couples swing-dance in the street to the music of a live band. Though the torch isn’t expected for 45 minutes, the sidewalks are packed three-deep from 114th Street to 116th.

Wrapped in a massive Canadian flag, U of A volunteer Ian Clarke stands ready to clear the streets for the torch’s arrival.

"They told us to wear something red and white, and this all I had," he says. "I’m pretty proud to wear it."

– -4:28 p.m. The first spontaneous version of O Canada erupts as Maggie Ibsen, 20, awaits the flame’s arrival. A recent arrival from Senegal, she’s got a maple leaf on her cheek. Until a year ago, she had never seen winter, let alone the Winter Olympics.

"But I’m getting into it," she says. "I really like the event where they shoot targets while skiing. It’s a very creative event."

– -4:28 p.m. Pauline Gillanders leads a group of five children down Whyte Avenue. The boys are dressed in red and the girls in pink, and all wave Canadian flags. "It’s nice today compared to 1988," says Gillanders. "We were hiding in bus shelters with sparklers."

All the children are excited to be out and wave their flags vigorously. Rosalie Borrelli, 11, says: "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

– -4:49 p.m. Whyte Avenue is empty save for three young women huddled together on a park bench, all wearing red Canada jackets, tuques and smacking blue RBC tambourines.

Despite the cold, they smile and sip hot chocolate to stay warm.

"We thought it would be really busy so we headed out early to grab seats," says Nicole Benoit.

"If we missed it, we’d have to wait another 20 years, says her friend, Ingrid Buyks.

– -4:35 p.m. Oilers coach Pat Quinn steps off the torchbearer shuttle bus to cheers. "When I saw the flag go up, that was pretty awesome," Quinn says of Team Canada’s gold medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics. "And this is pretty good too."

4:36 p.m. Quinn tries to sign a fan’s purse but the marker doesn’t write on the material. "Are you sure you want me to sign this? This is Gucci!" he jokes.

– -4:41 p.m. Quinn finishes carrying the torch. "That was terrific. I don’t know if you can put it in words," he says.

– -4:53 Holding her daughter Stephanie up to see above the crowd, former Olympian Kerri Kendziora waits on 87th Avenue. A member of the 1996 women’s volleyball team, she remembers competing at the U of A in her younger days.

"It brings back a lot of memories. It’s exciting," she says of the relay.

– -5 p.m. In Hawrelak Park, the maple leaf is emblazoned on every piece of fabric imaginable -hats, scarves, jackets, even baby strollers. The crowd surges forward as the first runner, Owen Procter, lights his torch and begins his leg up Groat Road. After missing out on chance to run the torch during the 1988 Olympics, the young father is thrilled to be included this time.

"He submitted a number of applications, he wrote an essay, he really went after it," friend Brian McGee says. "His co-workers at Costco were so proud of him, they got together, passed around the hat and bought his torch for him."

– -5:06 p.m. By the time the first wave of Olympic vehicles passes, the crowd near the Butterdome has doubled in size. Children sit on their parents’ shoulders and those at the back crane to see, all turning their gazes westward. Behind them, construction workers stand in the shell of half-finished building opposite the dome, taking a break from work to enjoy their spectacular view of the relay route.

– -5:15 p.m. A few enthusiastic crowd members follow the torch as it passes the Butterdome. The flame is handed off to the next runner beneath a giant Canadian flag hanging from a construction crane, and she hustles off, smiling and waving.

– -5:20 p.m. Decked out in her red and white triathlon jacket and tuque, Anne Baran stands in the rotunda of the Legislature to keep warm as she waits for the arrival of the Olympic torch.

"This is very exciting," she says with a big smile. "The Olympics mean a lot to me. My twin sister was in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. She was a swimmer. It is just amazing that people have taken the time and trouble to come and see the torch."

– -5:26 p.m. On Whyte Avenue, Greg Jones, 37, turns out with his wife Michelle. After a long procession of company vehicles drive by to hype the crowd, he explains why they wanted to be there. "To introduce our new girl to the Olympics," he says, and unzips his jacket to reveal a seven-week old baby girl.

– -5:27 p.m. Norma Blackstock and her daughter, Jackie Anderson, adjust their coats before they head outside after a brief warm-up inside the legislature.

"This will be the only time in my life time I will get to see it," Blackstone says of the torch

"It’s about patriotism. We should support our country, especially in times like this," Anderson says.

– -5:30 p.m. Crystal Silverquill holds balloons shaped in the Olympic logo as her nine-year-old daughter, Corrall Hill, lines up with the choir from Virginia Park School. "She is so pumped," Silverquill says.

"They have been practising for months. She is just so excited to be part of this."

– -5:31 p.m. The crowd outside the legislature is growing into the hundreds as more and more people arrive, many wearing red. Clint Love and his daughter, Brooke Peden, 14, are wearing white hockey jerseys and red mittens with the Olympic logo on them. Peden is carrying a big Canadian flag attached to a hockey stick. They applied to be torchbearers but weren’t called, he says.

Love saw the torch in 1988 when his class stood along 23rd Avenue and Calgary Trail to cheer on a classmate who was in the relay.

"It was pretty cold then. The whole school came out. I remember sitting in snow while we waited. It wasn’t as built up then as it is now," Love says.

– -5:32 p.m. Moniquea Marion, 28, steps out of the crowd and tries to high-five the torch bearer but is gently pushed to the side by some of the six torch guards, dressed in black.

"I wanted to touch the Olympic torch bearer," she says. "I think they just have that energy and I wanted to be close to it."

Jeremy Caradonna, 30, is there with her.

He’s an American and says it’s strange to see the torch in Canada. "I’m so used to hearing U.S.A., U.S.A. It’s was weird to hear people chanting for Canada."

– -5:47 p.m. At Whyte Avenue and 104th Street, the route is lined with people waving yellow ribbons and flags. Jen Shultz is there with her sons, Ethan, 4, and Jett, 2, (sleeping in a stroller) to watch her husband, Warrant Officer David Shultz, carry the torch.

– -"Other than wanting to cry and laugh, it just makes you proud," she says. "Proud to be a Canadian, proud to be an Edmontonian, proud to be his wife. It’s a real honour. The torch is everything we represent."

Ethan, bundled up with a red scarf wrapped around his face, is asked how it feels to see his dad. After a moment’s pause, he gives a thumb’s up.

– -5:47 p.m. Tracy Hwatt has a red tuque on and is standing near the bottom of the legislature stairs. "I don’t think I will ever have the opportunity again to come this close to the Olympics or this close to the torch," she says as she awaits its arrival.

"I’m a naturalized Canadian. My parents spread out a world map when they decided to move their family and they could have picked any country in the world, and they picked Canada. That really means a lot to me. Look, I’m tearing up as I say that," Hwatt laughs as she dabs away a tear.

– -5:53 p.m. A choir is singing as the police helicopter does a flyover at the legislature grounds. It shines its spotlight on the crowd and people cheer and wave.

– -5:55 p.m. On Whyte Avenue, two men and a woman keep pace with a torchbearer, shouting "Homes not games!" and "No Olympics on stolen land." One man is arrested and cited with causing a disturbance.

– -6:01 p.m. The torchbearer who will carry the flame to Winston Churchill Square jogs up to the legislature steps and the choir begins to sign O Canada. A cheer rises from the crowd as many seem to think the Olympic flame as arrived. Cindy Ady, Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation, goes to the microphone to tell the crowd the torch is still a few minutes away.

– -6:03 p.m. While the choir sings, about 50 protesters appear and make their way through the crowd chanting "No Olympics on native land" and waving placards above their heads. "Resist the torch," says one of the signs.

– -6:06 p.m. The choir is singing another song when a flame is spotted. Strobes flash from multiple cameras as people jockey to get pictures of the torchbearer. The protesters make another pass through the crowd, but their chants are drowned out.

– -6:09 p.m. Torchbearer Tatiana Sandoval jogs the legislature stairs where several provincial ministers wait. She poses with them holding the torch high.

– -6:10 p.m. Sandoval hands off the Olympic flame to Norm Thorsen, who soon jogs down the steps and heads east with the flame.

– -6:13 p.m. "That was pretty cool," says Tannis Wisheu, who waited nearly an hour to see the torch.

– -6:28 p.m. Gangs of Coca-Cola employees at the rear entrance to Churchill Square make sure everyone who enters gets a small flag.

Melissa Whitfield, 34, stands on the edge of the crowd with her two children, Rose, 4, and Ben, 2. She recently moved to Edmonton from Medicine Hat, and says this is the biggest crowd she’s ever seen.

"It’s an incredible experience," she says. "I wanted to experience it for myself but also to be able to tell my kids about it later."

– -6:39 p.m. At the junction of Jasper Avenue and 109th Street, torchbearer Cheryl Gibson poses for photos with the spectators as she waits for her turn to carry the flame.

"This is absolutely fantastic," says Gibson.

– -6:41 p.m. Her torch lit, Gibson hustles down the avenue, followed by cheering and an escort of bicycle police. A warm reception greets her at 109th Street. Using a Canadian flag as a cape and shouting encouragement into a red and white microphone, Jason Mielke embodies the crowd’s excitement.

– -6:50 p.m. The crowd disperses, many heading for the celebrations at Churchill Square. Among them is John Halun, 73, who wears the yellow uniform he was issued as an alpine racing official in the 1988 Calgary Olympics. His official duties kept him from witnessing the 1988 relay, but he says he’s glad he made it out to see the torch pass through Canada this year.

"I think it’s terrific."

– -6:58 p.m. As the flame approaches, people put down their cameras and push forward to get closer to the torch.

– -7:02 p.m. A hush falls over the crowd as the national anthem begins. The swaying and shivering stops as people stand to attention, and take up the song.

– -7:05 p.m. Pamela Hafey, 34, cheers along with the crowd as the anthem ends. She moved to Canada from India in 2000 and became a citizen in 2007. This is her first Olympics as a Canadian. She says the torch is an important tradition.

"It symbolizes the human spirit," she says. "It’s an opportunity for all of us to ensure that that spirit is always alive."

Bobbi Klettke, 34, says the Games bring people together.

"I’m amazed so many people are here," says Klettke.

– -7:26 p.m. Mona Goebel has spent the day watching the torch relay with her daughter, two granddaughters and future grandson-in-law. They started in Sherwood Park, then went out to see the flame on Jasper Avenue before heading over to Churchill Square.

"I think this is fantastic," says Goebel, wrapped in a Canadian flag blanket. "It sure brought out the spirit and brought Canada together."

Her daughter Lynn Roppelt says she’s glad they got to see the flame.

"It let’s those of us who couldn’t get out to the Olympics be part of the Games," says Roppelt.

Granddaughter Mackenzie says her favourite part was watching the torchbearers pass off the flame.

"It was funny to watch the person who just passed off stand around all awkward like, ‘OK … what do I do now?’ "

Indeed.

kgerein@thejournal.canwest.com

cpierse@thejournal.canwest.com

tbendig@thejournal.canwest.com