The Canada Winter Games torch will travel through Surrey on Nov. 23, with a “celebration stop” planned that Friday afternoon at the Central City tower.
The Roly McLenahan Canada Games Torch, as it’s officially known, is used to start each Canada Games torch relay, “and must be used to ignite the official Games flame during the Opening Ceremony of each Canada Games,” according to a media advisory.
The event at Central City will start at 4 p.m., at 13450 102nd Ave.
For the first time in Canada Games history, the MNP Canada Games Torch Relay is travelling across Canada. The relay began in Ottawa on Oct. 4 and will continue until Feb. 15, when the 2019 Games begin in Red Deer, Alberta.
• RELATED STORY: 2019 Canada Winter Games torch officially lit in Ottawa.
In Surrey, the event is a chance to “celebrate the spirit of the 2019 Canada Winter Games and our top young athletes,” according to an event post at mnp.ca.
“Join MNP at the SFU Surrey Campus for entertainment, refreshments and speeches from community leaders and athletes. Enjoy our promotional give-aways and the opportunity to meet several players from our very own Surrey Eagles hockey team – and don’t forget to snap and post your photo with the Games mascot, Waskasoo!”
Torch relay “celebration stops” will also be made locally in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
In total, 48 communities will be visited through the MNP Canada Games Torch Relay, with 26 torch relay stops and 22 celebration stops held across Canada.
“Torch relay stops are large-scale event, in which the formal torch relay occurs, followed by a community celebration,” notes a media advisory. “Each torch relay should be between two to five kilometres and should take between 30 to 45 minutes to complete. Celebration stops are smaller-scale celebrations with the torch.”
The Canada Games Torch was renamed the Roly McLenahan Torch in 1985, in honor of the late Roly McLenahan, an original member of the Canada Games Council who “demonstrated a life-long commitment to youth and their participation in sport,” according to a post at canadagames.ca.
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