Thousands are expected to turn out to see the Olympic Flame in person when it reaches Orangeville next Monday, Dec. 28.

At a media conference in Orangeville Wednesday, Olympic Torch Relays Operations Assistant Kim Russell of Vancouver said the 45,000 kilometres of the relay are precisely timed, and the convoy is never expected to be more than a maximum five minutes off schedule at any one of its stops.

That might seem a difficult feat, given the complexity of the tortuous route. But, as one example, the flame will arrive in Orangeville at 10:06 a.m. Monday, cover a fairly lengthy route through the town, and then leave at 11:42 so as to arrive in Shelburne at 11:55 for its brief event.

“The torch bearers run in the relays. We have a police escort to Shelburne,” Ms. Russell explained.

The flame was lit at Olympia, Greece, on Oct. 22 and handed to the Vancouver committee a week later, on Oct. 29. Wednesday was Day 60 of the Canadian relays that began in Victoria, came through the mountains and across the Prairies, north to the northernmost Arctic community, around to the Maritimes, and now it’s on its way back to the West Coast.

The flame is supposed to symbolize “peace, brotherhood, friendship. Ms. Russell’s role is to promote excitement and create momentum throughout the relays.

The torch relay will arrive at Orangeville from Guelph via Erin and Alton as part of a convoy of vehicles, which will include torchbearer shuttles, media vehicles, relay support vehicles and police cruisers.

Coming from the previous night’s celebration in Kitchener, the convoy will arrive in Orangeville via Peel 136 and Townline as far as Dawson Road.

The torch relay will travel north on Dawson Road to Broadway, east on Broadway to Clara Street, and north on Clara to the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre, where the convoy will park along Matthew and McCarthy (between Clara and Faulkner Streets).

Following the two-hourlong celebration show, the torch relay will carry on in front of the sports centre to Faulkner Street, going south on Faulkner to Broadway and through the downtown core. The torch relay will then turn north at Second Street (at the Town Hall), and travel west along First Avenue to First Street, where it heads north to Highway 10 en route to Shelburne.

To celebrate the arrival of the flame, the community is planning a spectacular celebration as organized by the Torch Relay Community Task Force and choreographed and produced by Roland Kirouac, who choreographed the opening of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and the Toronto Skydome (now Rogers Centre).

The celebration starts at 9:15 a.m. at the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre, with a special lighting of the cauldron on stage when the torch relay reaches the site at 10:26 a.m. Boxer Bryon Mackie, the Community Torchbearer, will carry the torch into the ceremony.

The show’s performances will take place on an outdoor stage, and weather-permitting, on Murray’s Mountain, a temporary ice rink, and part of the ODSS field.

Residents are encouraged to line the route or attend the celebration.

The torch relay presenting partners RBC and Coca-Cola will have some giveaways along the route, and the Town will be distributing torch relay stick flags. Both RBC and Coca-Cola will also have a presence at the celebration site with activities for the public.

Residents wishing to see the show should come early. Please take note that if you bring lawn chairs to wait out the start of the show, you will likely end up standing during the show, much like a concert.

The Orangeville Optimist Club will offer a pancake breakfast, starting at 8 a.m., and Hat Trix will have an indoor and outdoor conces- sion, serving hot drinks and other food items and snacks. The Optimists breakfast, including a drink, will cost $5 for adults and $2.50 for children aged 10 and under.

“This is probably the largest event Orangeville has ever hosted and some parking restrictions and road closures will be necessary to accommodate such a large-scale relay and celebration,” Mayor Rob Adams said.

Streets around the sports centre, as well as Clara Street, will be closed from 3 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 28. Broadway will be closed from 8:30- 11 a.m. from Blind Line to Louisa Street, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Bythia Street to Wellington Street. Other road closures include John Street, from York Street to Broadway, Second Street from Broadway to First Avenue, and First Avenue from Second Street to First Street, all from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There will be no parking on the south side of Broadway (between Bythia Street and Second Street), on both sides of Second Street (from Broadway to First Avenue), and on First Avenue, (between First and Second Streets) – from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In addition to the above road closures, temporary rolling road closures will ensure the safety of the torchbearers and spectators lining the relay route. It’s estimated it takes 8-10 minutes for the convoy to pass any point in the relay.

The crowd will see a new torchbearer carry the flame every 300 metres through the community as it travels on its 45,000- kilometre-long journey across Canada – the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history.

Parking in the vicinity of the celebration site will be limited (and accessed by torch relay event permit only), with parking lots reserved for volunteers, crew, performers, and police operations. Residents need to plan ahead with respect to parking or walking to the site. Limited accessible parking will be provided in the parking lot at Elizabeth and Clara Streets, with a valid permit.

To accommodate visitors, special torch relay parking lots have been designated for December 28 — the train station parking lot on Townline, Westside Secondary School, and the Fairgrounds Shopping Centre parking lot (south of Canadian Tire parking lot).

Additional parking will be available at the two downtown parking lots off Little York and Armstrong Streets, just south of Broadway.

Free shuttle buses will be provided, by Orangeville Transit, from the train station lot, Westside Secondary School, and the Fairgrounds Shopping Centre, with larger buses serving the larger lots. Orangeville Transit will also offer free service that day, with special routes traversing streets that are not normally covered by Orangeville Transit, and residents will be able to hail a ride along those routes. The buses will operate from 7:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. with service every 20- 30 minutes. For maps of torch relay designated parking lots, free transit routes, special parking lot shuttle buses, walking distances, and the torch relay route visit www. orangeville.ca or pick up an information sheet at the Town Hall, the recreation centres, the libraries, and the Hills of Headwaters Tourism office.

The Town of Shelburne has been quietly preparing for its moment of Olympic glory when anyone who can make it downtown at about noon next Monday is invited to watch the Torch Relay and then partake of a free barbecue at Jack Downing Park.

No one at the town hall seems to mind that the spotlight has been on Orangeville and its preparations, not only locally but on the airwaves. Instead, they quietly take note that Orangeville itself was upstaged by one of its residents, Mike English, who was parachuted into New Brunswick by Olympic sponsor Panasonic to carry the torch at the start of the Relay there.

Mr. English is the sonin law of East Garafraxa Mayor and now Dufferin Warden Allen Taylor.

In Shelburne, the Torch event is scheduled to begin at 11:55 a.m. at the Dufferin Mutual home office at the east end of town.

From there, it will proceed in 300-metre relays to the west end of the town. Its next stop will be at Mount Forest and, from there, it will wend its way north on Highway 6 to Owen Sound - with relays at Durham, Chatsworth and possibly other centres along the way.

Who will be bearing the Torch? Patti Hossie said Tuesday the names have been kept secret. So the relay in Shelburne is shrouded in mystery, so far as anyone at the town hall will say.

But it’s almost certain there’ll be a good crowd lining Main Street, including 164 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets in uniform.

And it’s unlikely anyone will wish to miss the barbecue at the park.