Thousands of Miltonians lined Main Street early in the morning today in Milton to catch a glimpse of the Olympic torch as it makes it way through the GTA and beyond.
There was definatley a chill in the air as people huddled closely to the edge of the street waiting for some sign the torch and the runners were on their way. Miranda was taking in the festivities with a look of wonderment in her eyes, not really sure what was going on. Anthony on the other hand was bundled up and poked his head out to the street eagerly waiting to see history in the making.
Christmas carols her heard, as choirsters brought out the holiday spirit of the people along the road. Mayor Gord Krantz and Halton MP Lisa Raitt were in front of Knox Prespyterian Church to greet CTV weather guy Tom Brown as he cheerfully brought the flame to be handed off.
The cheers got louder as the motorcade made its way down the street, the first car with a flashing sign saying the torch will be here in 5 minutes. Not to forget the sponsors of the event, a large COKE truck with singers cheering on the crowd and the RBC part of the parade announcing that “its coming”. Another Milton blogger Jennifer Smith was there recording the event on video, so look to her blog for her updates as well.
A smiling Tom Brown feeling the effects of the cold greeted the Mayor and MP and lit the next torch. As the new torch was being lit, the people surrounding the area broke into a warm rendition of “OH CANADA”.
Brenda Wilson (thanks Steve!) finished up and made her way down Main Street to the next stop 300 meters away. The cheers of the crowd were deafening as the route closed up and as soon as it was here, it was gone.
It definately was history in the making as we dont know when or if the torch will ever make its way back to Milton again. There were many people openly emotional being a part of this great event. Kids were laughing and excited chanting GO CANADA GO in the hopes our athletes bring it home this year.
Afterwards we made our way down to the Memorial Arena for a pancake breakfast put on graciously by the Knights of Columbus. Hundreds packed the Lions Hall upstairs to take part in the meal and be entertained by live music. It was really well run and many thanks to the Knights for their generosity.
Edit: Here are some more pictures. If you were there…let me know how you felt as the countdown to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver made its way through Canada’s fastest growing municipality. These pictures are courtesy Paul Mitrovich, who apparently lost a finger in the cold (waaaaa, as you head to FLORIDA tomorrow) HA.
Comments
10 Responses to “Olympic Pride in Milton”
I was there as well. What a day!
My 3 kids were just like Anthony sticking their heads out to see the torch coming. They still havent stopped smiling yet.
I hope they never forget today as it probably will be a long long time before it happens again.
Thanks Mike.
I was up till 5am playing Halo and slept through it 🙁
The runner that Tom Brown handed off to was my wife, Brenda Murray Wilson. It was such a great moment & she still hasn’t stopped smiling!
She definately looked happy as she got the hand off. Congratulations to Brenda for such a great honour! – Mike
We were at Bronte and Main, and it was really fun! I was surprised how emotional I got seeing the torch. And wow, what an impressive crowd, considering how early and cold it was!
The chill in the air couldnt cool off the crowd at all. From one end of Main Street until the end it was solid people all the way through. Very proud of Miltons turnout for the torch relay. – Mike
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You can go see some video of the event from Jennifer Smith at http://sprawlville.blogspot.com
She “braved” the early hours and cold temps to bring us the video. :). Great job Jennifer!!
I was up till 5am playing Halo and slept through it.
by Zeeshan Hamid December 19, 2009 at 4:04 pm edit comment
Zeeshan,
You missed a magical moment in Milton. As cold as it was it was an event that wont soon be forgotten.
That was an amazing morning. Thanks to Jennifer for the video on her site. My camera went down just before the torch came and we were just a bit down Main Street from you so your pictures tell an amazing story.
http://www.miltoncanadianchampion.com/news/article/290115
Here is more Champion Coverage of the event.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!