Vancouver retailers win gold

My good friend John had the great fortune to win the lottery for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic games. He’s been keeping me updated on the events going on in Vancouver – I think he’s trying to make me jealous. What makes me even more envious is the influx of consumers that has descended upon the Vancouver area. According to John, retailers are busy trying to keep up with the demands of tourists. And it’s not just those red mittens that are flying off the shelves! Here’s a first hand account of the Olympics from a consumer perspective.

Hi Andy!

Take a look at the view we had for the opening ceremonies!

My daughter was fortunate enough to buy tickets online for the entire family to attend the Opening Ceremonies – that’s all seven of us! I was thrilled. Vancouver has been in such a buzz recently and just in the few days leading up to the start of the games I saw all the retailers busy servicing the needs of customers. And people weren’t just buying those red mittens, they were buying anything Canadian. I bet it makes you wish Green Village had a location in Vancouver!

Back to the opening ceremonies… The tickets said to arrive one hour before the start for “audience participation rehearsal”. I had no clue what was in store. The seven of us set out on our journey (as Jake always says) and took the new Canada Line subway downtown. We arrived at B.C. Place in plenty of time, about 2 1/2 hours before to leave time for security. EVERYONE was wearing tattoos, carrying flags, and dressed in some form of red and white. More kudos to all those retailers big and small that sold Canada items everyone at the event.

Our seats were in the upper deck to the right of the stage, but there was not a bad seat in the house. Each one of the 60,000 seats had a “kit” consisting of a heavy cardboard box in the shape of a First Nations drum, and decorated on the outside with First Nations art (sorry about the photo quality, I snapped these with my phone).  Inside the drum was a very light blue poncho, 2 flashlights, a stick to beat the drum, and a beautiful 45-page program, describing all aspects of the ceremony.  VANOC did a great job with these and my kids will treasure them forever (or at least they will until it gets lost in the depths of their messy rooms!). I’m sure you saw the ”twinkling lights” – flashlights – that we used at just the right time!  What an honour to not only attend but participate!

As you probably saw, the Ceremony was spectacular – our highlights were the whales crossing the water and the large polar bear!

During the entrance of the athletes, there was no hesitation by the audience to stand for the country of Georgia to pay tribute to their fallen athlete, and it was very appropriate to see the flags flown at half-mast. As soon as you could see the Canadian flag signaling Canada was coming in through the tunnel below the Olympic rings, the audience was on their feet, the flags were out, and it seemed like we screamed until they got to their seats. What a proud moment!

All-in-all, an absolutely wonderful evening, and one we will all remember! GO CANADA GO!

- John

P.S. Jake is already asking for all the Olympic mascots and more Canada gear – have you ever thought about stocking them in your stores?