80 days to go – GE Plaza at Robson Square is open!!
Wow! The opening of the GE Plaza at Robson Square was pretty special! I’m very glad that I got to be there for it. Catriona Le May Doan was the emcee. Premier Gordon Campbell, VANOC CEO John Furlong, GE Canada President and CEO Elyse Allan, and GE President of Olympic Sponsorship and Corporate Sales Peter Foss were all there to present the new rink to Vancouver. For me it was already wonderful at that point, but then Jeffrey Buttle came out to skate! It was beautiful!
Jeffrey Buttle skating at the opening of the GE Plaza.
The opening was fairly brief, but there were some great opportunities for photos, so I’ll mostly share those:
Jeffrey getting Red Mittens from Premier Gordon Campbell
Opening the rink to kids from the Vancouver Skating Club.
The Vancouver 2010 Mascots skating at the GE Plaza - I even got a hug from Miga!!
Hey! I found the Vancouver 2010 Ticket Box Office!
Apparently the Main Ticket Box Office just opened last Wednesday in the UBC Robson Square Bookstore. I will be adding it to my Vancouver 2010 Venue map. I will also add the Whistler Box Office which I’ve been told is due to open on Thursday this week.
Kids and the Mascots at GE Plaza
The GE Plaza orca zamboni! So cute!
It was a great morning! And I have to admit is was made even better when I had a chance to grab the Monday Metro and found that I had been quoted on the front page! Eeek! I hadn’t been expecting anything like that, it was awfully neat 
.
I had meant to go skating on the Opening Day at the new rink, but the place was jam-packed!! So I’ll try for it another day. Did you go skating on the Opening Day?? Post a comment and let everyone know how it went! It looks like a heckuva lotta fun!
* * * * *
One last bit, if you’re interested in winning a Visa Mascot pin, click here for details on how to enter!
Thank you merci for reading!
Hi Andrea, that is really cool that you were quoted on the front page of the Metro!
Hi Stephanie!
I’m so sorry I haven’t gotten your pin to you yet! I’ve been carrying it around for weeks. I will try very hard to get it to Steve tomorrow!
Thanks for reading, I’m very happy you’re involved!
Cheers,
Amdrea
Ooooh you were quoted!!! (this calls for three exclamation points)
Ooh, there’s an evening to plan for…skating at the new rink, and then Olympic themed drinks at the Four Seasons.
That sounds like a fabulous idea Rachael!! I’d love to do that some night.
Great to see the outdoor skating rink back in operation. I think it is going to be a very popular site in the months to come.
However, I wish the opening had been better advertised. I am really ticked that I missed Jeffrey Buttle!!! GRRRRR!!!
The answer to your VISA pin contest is …
Amik … the beaver … 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics
Hidi & Howdy … brother & sister polar bears … 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics
My friend Nini Gabriel would love to win that pin to add to her collection!
Congrat’s on making Front Page news
)
Your enthusiasm is contagious!!!
My sister, Sharon Snider, in Ontario wishes to have her name entered into your VISA Mascot Pin contest.
Amik – 1976 Montreal Olympics Mascot
Hidy & Howdy – 1988 Calgary Olympics Mascots
As usual my wife, Gail Anderson, is nagging me to enter her name into your contest for a pin!
She informs me that Amik is the mascot for the 1976 Montreal Olympics and Hidy & Howdy are the mascots for the 1988 Calgary Olympics!
No worries, she’s even shown me the pins for each of these mascots and she is collecting a pin for each of the Olympic mascots since the first informal mascot at the 1968 Mexico Olympics! I really do think that she is becoming a ‘Pinhead’………..Is there a cure?
Great blog! Amik wa sthe Montreal 76 Olympic mascot, Hidy & Howdy the 88 Calgary Olympic mascots. My brother Dave Sims asked me to have his anme entered for the pin. Keep up the good work!
Hi, Peter it was nice to see the images of you in Vancouver.
Judy,
Peter Jr.,
and Christie Foss