While the 40th annual BC Summer Games officially begin on Friday morning in Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley, the opening ceremonies kicked off the four-day event Thursday evening at Laketown Ranch.
Local dancers, musicians, pipes and drums inspired, delighted and entertained not only the athletes, but the hundreds of parents, coaches, officials and volunteers in the crowd.
“Our volunteers have been hard at work for months planning all aspects of the opening ceremonies to create lifetime memories,” said Jennifer Woike, President Cowichan 2018 BC Summer Games, in a news release.
“To make this a truly community event, the opening ceremony is free for everyone to attend – regardless of their involvement with the Games.”
Some of the local amateur performers included:
- Judy Hogg Dancers
- Steps Ahead Dance Academy Dancers
- O’Brien Dancers
- Carlson Dance Stomp Crew
- Little Miss C’s (from Carlson School of Dance)
- Carlos Rush (from Carlson School of Dance)
- DDT Drumline
- The Porter Brothers
Other performances included Shane Koyczan, one of the greatest spoken-word artists in Canadian history. Koyczan delivered a similar inspiring message to the young athletes as he did at the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics: one of respect, acceptance and the passion to achieve greatness in sport.
Inspiring powerful message from @shanekoyczan to kick off @BCGames1 #BCSummerGames
— Joel Smith (@myotherbro) July 20, 2018
Asani gave a unique twist on Canada’s national anthem, met with standing ovation and loud cheers for the Aboriginal women’s trio from Edmonton.
Check out some of the other sights from the Games’ opening ceremony:
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