There are numerous Olympic venues to visit that are either free or have a minimal cover charge. Indeed the range of options is exciting. Over at Citycaucus.com you can find an impressive collection of news about free local opportunities that will take place during the games. In particular they have sourced out details relating to the pavilions that individual communities and some of the host countries will mount including information about the following venues. Miss604.c0m has created a map showing the location of the various pavillions.
Family friendly event information is included in brackets.
* 2010 Aboriginal Pavillion, Georgia and Hamilton Street
* Abbotsford Live Site, 7 – 32470 Haida Drive, Abbotsford (Take part in Olympic themed public skates, swims, and programmes, a free night market and inflatable fun zone)
* Alberta House, Robson and Beatty Street
* Atlantic Canada House, 1585 Johnston Street (Granville Island) (Enjoy Maritime cuisine and entertainment on one of the three stages in the pavilion.)
* BC Canada Pavillion, 750 Hornby Street (Vancouver Art Gallery, 4th Floor)
* Bell Ice Cube (See the games on multiple screens, hear Olympians speak and listen to entertainment.)
* Bombardier Streetcar (More Information)
* Canada’s Northern House, 602 W. Hastings Street (at Seymour) to March 31st (Check out the simulated northern lights in the windows and the story telling corner. this 13,000 sq. foot building is open 10 AM to 9 PM and features northern art, , gold and daimond displays in addition to the simulated lights.)
* Canada’s Pavillion at LiveCity, Cambie and Georgia, Feb. 13 – 27, March 12 – 14 and 18 – 21
* Casa Italia. Roundhouse Community Centre (Featuring food and entertainment in the popular Round House setting. including Ferrero Rocher chocolate on demand.)
* Concord Pacific Place (family fun, children’s hockey shootouts, daily visits from hockey stars, Molson Canadian’s Hockey House live acts.)
* Edgewater Celebration Village, Plaza of Nations
* Four Host Nations Pavilion (Visit a Coast Salish longhouse featuring food and entertainment such as Inuit throat singing, Métis jigging and hoop dancing during free nightly concerts. This pavilion will be on a 65 foot high inflated multimedia sphere at the corner of West Georgia and Hamilton Streets. Bannockwiches, spicy bison in phyllo pastry, grilled salmon and tiger shrimp will be available. )
* French Quarter (Place de la Francophonie, Granville Island)
* GE Plaza (Robson Square, Robson and Howe Street (Free skating from 12 PM to 9 PM.)
* German Fanfest, 555 West Cordova St., (The Landing, next to Steamworks) (This will be a giant German food and beer hall featuring Kostritzer beer, Thuringian bratwurst and the Thuringian band Acoustica. Open Feb. 11 to 28 from 10 AM to 2 AM. Cover charge after 5 PM.)
* German Saxony House, 450 Stanley Park Drive (Vancouver Rowing Club), 12 PM to 2 AM (Enjoy food, entertainment and the opportunity to meet German sportsmen and sportswomen from 12 Pm to 2 AM.)
* Heineken House (Holland), 7551 Minoru Gate (Minoru Arenas), Richmond (Holland’s pavilion was one of the most popular during the Turin Winter Olympics) Facebook page Official page Flickr photo stream
Holland House in action in Richmond:
* House of Switzerland, 200 – 1676 Duranleau St., (Bridges Restaurant), Granville Island (Sample Swiss chocolates and cheese. The Swiss have brought in their own chefs. There will be a glassed-in broadcast studio, daily giveaways of Swiss sports and street wear and a chance to win a trip for two to St. Moritz, Switzerland.) Official Site
* Irish House, 620 Nelson Street (next to Doolins Irish Pub), $10/20 cover for evening events. Children are free. (Designed to be a family friendly site from 12 PM to 7 PM. 750 visitors at a time can be hosted. Big screen TVs will show Olympic events.)
* Kla-How-Ya Aboriginal Village, 300 – 999 Canada Place (Atrium of Pan Pacific Hotel) Official website Related article
* Laser Waterworks Show (See a laser show against a background of sprayed water.) Official site.
*LiveCity Downtown, Georgia and Beatty, 11 – 12:30 AM (Visit a created “piazza” featuring a large outdoor screen, daytime interactive school programming and street entertainment. This site opens Feb. 11th. It will reopen during the Paralympics from March 12 to March 21.)
* LiveCity Yaletown, David Lam Park 11 AM to 11 PM (Enjoy entertainment from 11 AM to 11 PM, Olympic sponsor pavilions, Vancouver House, refreshments and sport highlights on giant screens. Corporate sponsors such as Coca Cola, Samsung, Acer and Panasonic will have pavilions there. There will also be interactive displays and product and Olympic ticket giveaways and contests. Family friendly programming will take place 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM from Friday to Sunday.) Vancouver House schedule. The David Lam venue is a popular destination for many local residents, so expect the area to be crowded. A small stroller or baby carrier are recommended.
* Manitoba House (Near Live City Downtwon. This 2,650 sq foot pavilion will feature prairie culture and entertainment. It is next to Canada’s pavilion Next to LiveCity Downtown.)
* Molson Canadian Hockey House 88 Pacific Blvd. (Concord Place between Science World and BC Place) $99 – $450)
* New Westminster (Keep the Dream Alive)
* Nightly Medal Award Ceremony
* O-Zone Richmond, Richmond Minoru Park and area (Enjoy huge ice art, a large high-definition screen, outdoor ice skating, art, athletes, exhibits, virtual sports reality booths, food, fireworks and well known bands such as Our Lady of Peace, Bedouin Soundclass and Tokyo Police Club. Visit the BCLC 2010 Winter Games Dome – a four domed tent with interactive sports experiences that enable children to experience what it is like to participate in the games. Children can shoot targets while skiing through a Biathlon event or experience ice hockey, for example.)
* Ontario Pavilion, 88 Pacific Blvd. (Concord Place between Science World and BC Place) Related article about 4-D theatre
* Quebec House (Maison Quebec)
* Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion (Visit the children’s activities section on the 1st floor- open 9:30 PM – 6 PM. Mention “Mint.ca” at the Pavilion Boutique and get 10% off all purchases.)
* Russian Tall Ship (Visit the Kruzenshtern via the North Vancouver Burard dry dock.)
* Saskatchewan Pavilion, 88 Pacific Blvd. (Concord Place between Science World and BC Place)
* Scandinavia House, 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby (Scandinavian Community Centre) (Watch the games at this venue) Related article
Image: BCfamily.ca
Sochi House (Russia) will be located in the Telus World of Science (formerly Science World)
* Sochi House – Russia, Science World (Watch cartoons in the Omnimax theatre, take part in Table Hockey, dance and chant contests, attend autograph signing sessions and other festive events)
* Surrey 2010 Celebration Zone, Holland Park, Surrey (Coprner of King George Highway and Old Yale Road) (Visit the sliding zone, skating rink, RCMP musical ride, curling zone, toboggan zone, food court, sustainability way, meet the mascots, concerts, Kids World Craft Tent and Story Telling Tent) Official site
*USA House (Visit the Team USA store)
*ValleyFest, 1233 Lynn Valley Rd., North Vancouver (Enjoy entertainment, children’s events, 3 on 3 ball hockey game, “kurling”, an outdoor playground and cafe)
* Vancouver “Streets to Watch” (These streets will have festive programming and will be closed to vehicles)
* Vancouver Art Gallery (Free admission during the games, open until 9 PM, Michael Lin artwork on north facade and free admission to a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition)
* Vancouver City Hall (Featuring a nightly light show on the building’s exterior)
*Vectorial Elevation English Bay, dusk to dawn (Further information about the search light show)
* Victory Ceremonies, 777 Pacific Boulevard (BC Place) Celebration at 6:30, medals presenation at 7 PM, live concerts at 7:30 (Nelly Furtado, Barenaked Ladies, INXs $22 for assigned seating, $50 for premium seating).
* West Vancouver Spirit Square, 2121 Marine Drive, WEst VAncouver (Enjoy entertainment, learn about the Canada Space programme and visit a scale model of the International Space Station. More information.)
* Whistler Round-Up (Fire & Ice Remix at Skiers Plaza: on-mountain snow show of air, fire dancers and music; Storytelling at Blackcomb Bridge: history, culture and a winter fire; Whistler Live! Art Walk: walking tour of 60 artists in 44 galleries; pavilions including Austria House (near Lost Lake) Norway House (in MY Place), Swiss House (at the Mountain Club in Town Plaza) and Slovenia House (at the Mountain Club in the Westin Hotel.))
* WinterFest at Lonsdale Quay Market *(Visit a children’s ballroom, games and rides in an animated play area, face painting and ‘Q’ balloons, face painting by Alice and the Mad Hatter of Looking Glass Face Painting, BC Parks Jerry the Moose and a Ranger characters.)
* Ziptrek Vancouver, Robson between Hornby and Howe Streets (A unique opportunity to zip over Robson Square).
The Leonardo da Vinci Mechanics of Man exhibition includes 34 drawings on 18 sheets of paper that were completed in 1510. This is the first time that the drawings will be seen together. It is a rare opportunity to see Leonardo da Vinci’s work in Vancouver
The organizers for each of these venues have thought of as many ways as possible to animate the games through event programming. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the Olympics, your community and other cultures without having to travel too far from home!
Visit Vancouveraccess2010 where they have also been tracking culture related information about the games.
Related article:
2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics: The Family Games