Local torch relay efforts get national acclaim

This has been a red-letter week for Orangeville as far as making its presence felt on the national stage.

First, the Orangeville Northmen won their second consecutive Minto Cup, emblematic of national junior lacrosse supremacy, with an 8- 4 win Sunday over the rival Brampton Excelsiors.

Now, the town will be one of only two on the Vancouver Winter Olympic Torch Relay across Canada that will be featured on a segment of CTV's This Great Land, which will air Oct. 24 and focuses on the efforts Orangeville and Tofino, B.C. are putting towards their torch relay festivities.

Segment director Liam O'Rinn was impressed with Orangeville and the plans the Town and Community Task Force have made for the Torch Relay celebration. "I was overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people and the sheer beauty of the Town. The celebration show on December 28 will be magic — it's both edgy and unique — and it's going to be spectacular.

"After spending a day with choreographer Roland Kirouac of East Garafraxa and some of the people involved in the show, I can say that people are going to be blown away by it."

When the torch passes through town, there will be a show featuring a children's kazoo band, sky divers, singers, dancers, birds let loose in the air and, last but definitely not least, a precision snowmobile demonstration by members of the Orangeville Snowmobile Club.

The show is the brainchild of Mr. Kirouac, a 55-year veteran choreographer and stage producer of musical stage, circus and television.

The torch relay presentation, he explains, has 17 elements to it.

"Our objective is to be a collaborative community project and to produce the best torch relay show in Canada."

If anyone can pull it off, it would be Mr. Kirouac, who has choreographed actors, singers, dancers, and even elephants, during his long career. He is perhaps best known as the lead dancer and choreographer for The Pig 'n' Whistle, a popular show that ran for 10 seasons on CTV.

On Tuesday night, the CTV crew followed Mr. Kirouac to the Orangeville Snowmobile Club's property on County Road 10 and taped him putting winter recreation's answer to the Snowbirds and the RCMP Musical Ride through its paces.

Since there was an absence of snow, the precision team went through its paces on three-wheel ATVs.

The torch relay show "is going to be so spectacular and so unique," Mr. Kirouac waxed enthusiastically. "People are going to see something that has never been done before anywhere in the world!"

His excitement is passing on to the team, said club president Zen Slipenkyi, who also attributed much of the credit for CTV selecting Orangeville to the town's "atmosphere."

"We were excited even before we heard about the TV show," he said. "I think Orangeville is one of the best places in Canada when it comes to people participating in the town."

As is to be expected, Mr. Kirouac also has experience choreographing machines. He guided the OPP Golden Helmets motorcycle precision team.

Snowmobiles are more daunting than motorcycles, he admitted, because they have less maneuvrability. Nevertheless, spectators will be witness to a show of circles, crossings and figure-eights, all done to a musical beat.

"We were ecstatic when we heard that Orangeville had been chosen as one of two Canadian communities to be featured in the CTV documentary on Torch Relay preparations," said Orangeville Communications Officer Sheila Duncan. "Orangeville's Torch Relay Community Task Force, with the support of Orangeville Council, has put some impressive plans in place."

Many local residents who will perform in the December 28 show volunteered their time to take part in some early rehearsals for the camera crews on Tuesday. The Task Force has been busy meeting deadlines set by VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games) this summer.

"The next step in the planning process will be to inform and engage the community," said Ms. Duncan. "VANOC has stipulated that communities across the country must not provide details of their celebrations until after September 15. So the Town of Orangeville will be making a series of announcements in late September and early October to build excitement around our event."