This week, we kicked off a cool new program called B.C. Communities Showcase to show off our great province when the world arrives for the 2010 Winter Games.

We’re giving 15 communities across B.C. $10,000 to create an original three-minute video that celebrates what makes their little corner of the province so fantastic.

Between October and the end of the Paralympic Games in March, these 15 mini films will be shown on some of the airport’s large screens, and here online at YVRConnections.com.

Over the next four weeks, our team will be visiting the 15 communities to announce the program and present the cheques, including:

• Campbell River
• Castlegar
• Cranbrook
• Fort St. John
• Kamloops
• Kelowna
• Nanaimo
• Penticton
• Port Hardy
• Prince George
• Prince Rupert
• Terrace
• Tofino
• Victoria
• Williams Lake

It’s up to the local spirit of B.C. Committees in each community to decide who will play filmmaker, and what they want to profile about their region – whether it’s Okanagan wine country, sport fishing in Terrace, or surfing in Tofino. So get out that director’s chair.

We can’t wait to see the results. Check back here for program updates and to see the videos later this summer.

Final Stop: Fort St. John, The Energetic City

June 25, 2009

Kathy deLisser here.  I’m the Director of 2010 Planning for the Airport Authority, and I was thrilled to be able to participate in the BC Community Showcase Tour and fly to Fort St. John today for our last presentation.  The Fort St. John Spirit of BC Committee Chair Sarah Cockerill was so great, and they are well on their way to developing their video.   Dan Davies, one of the City Councillors, managed to steal away from the last day of school – he’s a teacher – to participate in the morning announcement at the airport.  The Fort St John Spirit of BC Committee seems very active in their community with lots of local support which is great to see.   Another big thrill for me was getting to meet Todd Tripp, the North Peace Regional Airport Managing Director and his team.  What a great airport with lots of amenities.  The pride that the airport staff has for their airport and their community genuinely shows.  All of the airport staff including Air Canada Jazz and security personnel were excited to get our YVR 2010 pins and to know that their region would be one of the 15 communities profiled at YVR through the 2010 Winter Games. 

Thank you, Fort St John.  I can hardly wait to see your video take flight.

Kathy

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Prince George –   B.C.’s Northern Capital

June 23rd and my final stop on our B.C. Community Showcase tour is Prince George – B.C.’s gateway to the north and geographical centre of the province.

The event was held in the tourism visitors centre located in the VIA rail station.  On hand was the mayor, several councilors, Prince George Spirit Committee members and staff from the visitors centre.  The mayor, who is also the chair of the Spirit Committee, accepted the cheque.  I had several follow-up interviews with local TV and radio stations that attended.   

As with many visitors to Prince George who stop and visit en route to northern B.C., the Yukon and Alaska, I had visited the city and region several years ago on a camping trip to those areas.  What a fabulous part of B.C. to visit and enjoy the great outdoors. 

We have two final stops to make this week in Cranbrook and Fort St. John that two of my colleagues will be reporting back on after their visit.  The past month has been a great experience. I got to visit eleven communities and meet with some very excited and energetic representatives from the local communities.  I look forward to September and viewing the fifteen videos showcasing our beautiful and spectacular province of British Columbia.

Paul

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Stampede Capital of B.C.

On June 18^th, our next step on the B.C. Community Showcase tour was to Williams Lake, located in the Central Cariboo region of B.C.

The event was held in the Tourism Discovery Centre, pictured here, and is a fabulous log structure which shows off the local expertise and craftsmanship that exists in Williams Lake. Not only does the tourism centre provide a wealth of information to visitors to the community and region, but it also provides a great example of a traditional log home – although much bigger at 14,596 square feet.

I made the cheque presentation to the mayor, with several media and tourism representatives in attendance along with the staff and visitors to the centre.

Unfortunately, we were a week early as next week the 83^rd annual Williams Lake Stampede kicks off which will see visitors and competitors coming to town for the four day event – sounds a lot like February 2010 but just on a much different scale. 

I expect I will see the stampede and visitor center featured in their video.

Paul

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Kamloops: Tournament Capital of Canada

It’s June 16, 2009 and here we are in Kamloops Airport (YKA) making a cheque presentation to the spirit committee. The airport is currently undergoing a major expansion of their terminal building and runway which made me feel right at home with all the construction nearing completion at YVR prior to the 2010 Winter Games. 

It was another great turnout by the local community, spirit committee, YKA staff, mayor and council.  We also had a considerable amount of interest from the local media with radio, print and TV all in attendance.  Following the cheque presentation to the chair of the Kamloops spirit committee and subsequent onsite interviews, the committee chair and me headed off to a local TV station for a live interview with the midday show

There certainly exists a great deal of interest and support in Kamloops for their spirit committee. I learned that they already have a number of Olympic teams from around the world using the Kamloops area for training in preparation for next years winter games. 

Paul

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BC’ s Capital and the Harbour City

On June 10^th we visited our provincial capital, Victoria and Nanaimo – known as the Harbour City.

We met on Thursday morning at the Tourism Victoria offices. The presentation was attended by several Spirit Committee members, city councilors and tourism representatives.  One of the local TV stations also attended and I was interviewed after the cheque presentation was made to one of the co-chairs of the Victoria Spirit Committee.

We then headed north on the Malahat Highway to Nanaimo for an early afternoon presentation. This session was very well attended by the Nanaimo Spirit Committee, Mayor, city councilors and other interested individuals from the community.  Nanaimo’s Spirit Committee was formed during the bid phase for the 2010 Winter Games and adopted the name Team Nanaimo.  Although many of the original team members have come and gone, the high level of enthusiasm and spirit of the committee lives on.

As we move into the home stretch of our tour around B.C., I would like to introduce my travel companion, Jordan Humphries, pictured here outside the Nanaimo Centre Stage, our presentation venue.

Paul

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June 10, 2009

Another B.C . Jewel

It’s June 8 and we are now off to Tofino, located on the beautiful and rugged  west coast of Vancouver Island. Oh what a scenic view from the air of the Island, ocean and crashing waves onto Long Beach as we made our approach into the airport.

I spent the early evening visiting Pacific Rim National Park and made a stop at Radar Hill and the memorial dedicated to the Battle of Kap’yong (April 22-25, 1951), which took place during the Korean War.  This has some great significance to me as my father, led a platoon as a young lieutenant in this important battle.

Tuesday morning we met with the Tofino Spirit Committee, Mayor and Council to make the cheque presentation. Again we had great attendance from the community and media.  Also in attendance was the filmmaker who has been selected to complete the three minute video.

Our short visit to Tofino and surrounding area, which I have done several times in the past, reminds me of the natural beauty of the area and all it has to offer.  I will definitely have to return again.

Paul
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June 4, 2009
Here we are in Castlegar, located in the southeastern portion of B.C., better known as the Kootenays.    We arrived yesterday afternoon and managed to explore the town and some of the surrounding communities of Trail and Rossland, which is home to the Red Mountain Ski Resort. After seeing the steep grade of the slopes it’s obvious why Nancy Greene Raine was an Olympic Champion in the downhill having grown up in Rossland.

Thursday afternoon we met with the Castlegar Spirit Committee and Mayor to make the cheque presentation.   There was great attendance from the local community, including several council members, and during my visit I had a couple of interviews with local media.  The Castlegar Spirit Committee has already selected a company for the video project. The region offers many great opportunities to feature in the video, like the other fourteen communities.

The excitement and interest from all those in attendance should translate into a great video showcasing Castlegar and their region.

Next up Tofino and the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Paul

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June 3, 2009
On Monday evening, June 1, we caught a flight from YVR’s South Terminal with Pacific Coastal Airlines over to Campbell River – a short one hour flight, with a stop in Comox. The next morning we headed off to City Hall to present the cheque to the Campbell River spirit committee.

The event was attended by several committee members, municipal staff and the acting mayor. I conducted a couple of phone interviews with local radio stations before we lost cell phone coverage as we drove north on the island highway to our next presentation in Port Hardy.

During the nice 2.5 hour drive to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, we saw numerous black bears along the side of the highway. The afternoon presentation at Port Hardy City Hall was well attended by an enthusiastic group from the community, which included the mayor and the spirit committee representative who accepted the cheque. Also in attendance was the filmmaker who has already been selected for the project. Well done Port Hardy – you are well under way.

Also attending were two Transport Canada staff from the Port Hardy Airport. They invited us to drop by their airport, which we did on our trip back to Campbell River.

We also stopped at Painters Lodge for dinner, but we just did not have enough time to take in any fishing. Oh well, next time!

Overall, a great visit to the northern half of Vancouver Island and meeting with the friendly and welcoming communities of Campbell River and Port Hardy.

Paul

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May 28, 2009

Now it’s my turn to hit the road. Taking over from Paul I headed out to Terrace and Prince Rupert to launch the BC Community Showcase program in those communities.  What a great trip.  Flying out of Vancouver International Airport (what we love to call YVR) I was reminded of the incredible beauty of BC.  We headed out over the snow capped mountains, landing in Terrace where I had my first meeting with a Kermode Bear.  Luckily it was part of the display in the airport terminal so no danger to anyone.

Thursday morning I had the pleasure of presenting a cheque for $10,000 to the Kermode Spirit Committee-there’s the bear again.  Mayor Dave, a few Councilors, Spirit Committee members, aviation, business and tourism people all attended with great enthusiasm.  The coveted YVR 2010 pin was well received and in return I added a Terrace Kraft Hockeyville pin to my collection.

From Terrace we headed out on Highway 16 towards Prince Rupert–a beautiful drive along the Skeena River with waterfalls tumbling over rock edges visible right from the road.  It got me thinking of a return trip to hike in the enticing provincial parks and wilderness access areas along the way.

I met with another very excited group of people in Prince Rupert to present them with their $10,000 cheque.  The Prince Rupert Spirit Committee, visitor centre, airport, business, tourism and City Council were all represented.  They’ve already started to think about how to produce their video so asked some detailed questions about the program.

I managed a quick trip around Prince Rupert to see the fishing boats, ferry terminal (for both Alaska and BC), new container port and Cow Bay before the rain started and I headed home.

For the airport enthusiasts:
YXT:  Northwest Regional Airport, Terrace-Kitimat, has a great meeting room right in the terminal that anyone can book.
YPR:  Prince Rupert Airport, is located on Digby Island, and all scheduled flights are met with bus and ferry service for the short ride into town.

Anne

Anne Murray
Vice President, Community and Environmental Affairs

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May 26, 2009

Day 1 of the B.C. Community Showcase tour saw us visiting Kelowna in the morning with the announcement and presentation of the cheque taking place at the Kelowna Airport. Two MLA Elects for the Okanagan region were in attendance along with a number of other representatives from local governments, tourism groups, and economic development services, local media and the Kelowna Spirit of BC Community Committee. I also had the opportunity to reconnect with the Kelowna Airport General Manager, who I worked with early on in my career at YVR.

After a quick bite to eat we headed south on Highway 97 to Penticton and experienced a slight delay along our route due to ongoing highway construction. The afternoon presentation took place in council chambers at the Penticton City Hall. We were joined by the Mayor, and representatives from the Penticton Spirit of BC Community Committee, local media, economic development services,  and several community and business leaders.

Both presentations were very well received with numerous follow-up interviews with the local media attending.

Of course any visit to the Okanagan would not be complete if we did not take a quick visit to a couple of the local wineries. After all we are out to promote the unique and varied tourism opportunities that exist in the 15 communities taking part in this program.

Next stop for me is next week to Vancouver Island, with visits to Campbell River and Port Hardy.  Um… isn’t that where all the great salmon fishing takes place!?

Paul
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May 25, 2009

I am heading off to the sunny Okanagan to launch our B.C. Community Showcase Tour, with visits to Kelowna and Penticton.  These are the first two stops in our month long tour to 15 BC communities who have been selected by the Airport Authority to participate in a great opportunity to showcase their community to the world.

Earlier today I was interviewed by local radio stations from Kelowna and Terrace, two of the communities that we will be visiting this week to present to each a cheque for $10,000 towards development of a short video to promote their region of our beautiful province.

Both radio hosts were very excited about the program and the tourism opportunities it offers their communities. I look forward to the next 30 days and visiting and meeting with local representatives from each of the communities.  And if the conversations from earlier today are any indication this should be an exciting and rewarding experience.

Paul

Paul Levy
Vice President, Planning
Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games