Olympic relay fills streets of Oromocto
Published Thursday November 26th, 2009
The Olympic spirit was alive and well at Oromocto's community celebration Wednesday afternoon.
Thousands of people gathered at the parade square next to Building H12 at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown to celebrate as the Olympic flame made its way through town.
Oromocto's celebration included musical performances from local musicians and tents with games and giveaways from Olympic sponsors Coca-Cola and RBC.
A five-gun salute and the cheers of the crowd welcomed the flame into the parade square.
LeRoy Washburn was the special community torchbearer for the town.
He was selected because of his lifetime of community involvement in athletics as a participant, official and a coach.
He carried the flame on its final leg into the community celebration, and lit the community cauldron.
He said he was proud to play the special role.
"It's certainly nice to be able to do this," he said. "It's an honour."
The crowd made way for Washburn and cheered him on as the community cauldron burst into flames. Washburn said he wasn't surprised by the number of people who showed up, or by their reaction to the Olympic flame.
"It's typical Oromocto," he said. "When they do something, they do it in a big way."
Maureen Hughes followed the torch relay as it travelled along Miramichi Road to St. John Street, past hoards of schoolchildren who were bused in to watch the torch relay pass by.
Hughes then made her way to the community celebration with her five-year-old son, Sam Congdon.
Seeing the flame in person was inspiring, she said.
"It's incredible," she said. "The roads were filled. I think it's so cool to see the amount of people here. The flame really brings so many people together."
Hughes said she had explained some of the history of the Olympic torch to her son.
She said she wasn't certain if he understood the magnitude of the event, but she was confident that attending the community celebration would be a special memory for him when he's older.
"Just knowing that it came here all the way from Greece is so amazing," she said.
"I've been telling Sam about how it gets passed from one person to the other. We even made our own little torch to celebrate."
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