New Westminster residents don’t have far to go if they’re looking for a way to get into the Olympic spirit.
Community members are invited to attend the Peace PyeongChang 2018 Ice Show on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8:30 p.m. at Queen’s Park Arena. The free event is organized by the National Unification Advisory Council Vancouver chapter.
Figure skaters Hyunah Yoo and David Gibson are directing the ice show, which features a warm-up show by the Korea Junior Dream Team, followed by three synchronized teams. More than 100 skaters are taking part in the show.
“We will make the stage where the pure enthusiasm of Vancouver Canadians and Korean Canadians who pray for the success of the PyeongChang Olympic Games will be the best shine,” Yoo said in a press release.
Organizers are encouraging people to dress in their Vancouver Olympics 2010 attire or wear red and white for Canada, red, blue and white for Korea, or their own country’s colours.
“It will be a big crowd,” Karen Baker-MacGrotty, co-chair of the New Westminster 2010 Spirit of B.C., said in an email to the Record. “As a thank-you for attending, the first 1,000 people will receive a free Olympic scarf. Expected attendance is already over 1,200 people and the number is growing daily, so it promises to be a lively event.”
People are encouraged to arrive at the arena by 8 p.m. Prior to the show, there will be a photo zone in the lobby with Olympic mascots Soohorang and Bandabi, who are the official mascots of the PyeongChang Olympic Games.
Senator Yonah Martin, who served two terms on the advisory council, said the council has chapters around the world and holds events such as dialogue series and forums to raise awareness about the importance of a peaceful unification of Korea. Overseen by the unification ministry in Korea, she said the council advises the president of Korea.
Martin, born in Korea and raised in Canada, became the first Korean-Canadian parliamentarian when appointed to the Senate in 2009, after running as the Conservative candidate in New Westminster-Coquitlam in the 2008 federal election. Martin is thrilled to be attending this weekend’s ice show.
“I think the timing is perfect. The Olympics will begin Feb. 9. We have amazing skaters in Canada. Korea can boast about Yuna Kim, who won the gold medal in women’s singles at the Vancouver Olympics,” Martin said. “Ahead of the Olympics, it hits on a number of points in an exciting way. And it’s timely too.”
