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Vanoc Unveils Olympic Mascots |
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By Dave Tinker, Web Master Last year at this time I was in Bangkok, hoping to escape the Christmas surfeit of excess expenditure, but to no avail. All the major buildings and shopping centres there, which make Vancouver look like a backwater, had elaborate displays of Christmas trees, snowmen and Santas. Christmas carols played in the stations of both the Subway and Skytrain, and this in a 95% Buddhist country. According to my resident Bangkok buddy, Thai folks like Christmas because of the children. Buddhism is an adult-oriented philosophy and Christmas is a season of love and giving for children. Besides, it's a great reason to shop. |
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| This year I'm back in Vancouver and Vanoc has unleashed their Olympic mascots on us masses just in time for gift giving. And it appears that they'll be successful. Distributed exclusively by The Bay until 2008, even the display at the main store downtown was obviously ransacked, to the point that Sumi, one of the characters, was sold out.
What's going on! A Googling of "Vancouver 2010 Mascots" gets 200,000 hits, mostly blogs of various and sundry "experts". The main media are for the designs. The bloggers who are opposed to anything are opposed to the designs. The arts and design blogs love the characters. Personally, I like them, they have a lot of kid appeal and the kids love them. And that's the point, the unveiling ceremony took place at the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey before 800 extatic students from 8 Metro Vancouver elementary schools. The characters are: |
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| Miga
Miga is an amalgam of Kermode Spirit Bear and Orca who lives in the ocean off the West coast of Vancouver Island. In the Summer, she surfs with the locals and in the Winter she snowboards on the North Shore mountains. She is a Coast Nations legend that Orcas transform into Kermode Bears when they come on shore. |
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 Quatchi
Quatchi is a shy young Sasquatch from BC's deep forests. He loves all Winter sports but wants to be a hockey goalie. A little clumsy because of his size, he still knows that if he works hard he can achieve his dream. There is an old First Nations legend of the "Man of the Woods," a shy giant who lurks in the forest, representative of the mystery and wonder that exists in the natural world that can ignite our imagination about the possibility of fantastic creatures in the wilderness. |
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 Sumi
Sumi is an animal spirit of the mountains, wearing the hat of the Orcas, having the wings of the Thunderbird and the legs of a bear. Sumi is a Coast Salish word meaning "Guardian Spirit" and he takes his role very seriously and is the mascot of the Paralympic games. The ability to trasform is a common theme in Coastal First Nations legends. Totem animals such as the Orca, Bear and Thunderbird are all depicted on masks and other works of art, blending from one into the other. The orca is the traveller and guardian of the sea. The bear often represents strength and friendship. And the thunderbird, which creates thunder by flapping its wings, is one of the most powerful of the supernatural creatures. |
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| So there we have it. Get shopping folks and spread the cuddly collectables to all your friends. | ||
 Just to keep you in the mood, All Nations' new location is just 2 streets East of Olympic St. It makes me wonder about the clamp-down that Vanoc has done on all things named Olympic. The West End restaurant of the same name is still embroiled in litigation, and we here are still not allowed to display images of Olympic coins, even though they are the Coin of the Realm.
We continue to play with the concept, even though the Games will come and go and no doubt leave a lasting positive impression on the region, just as Expo '86 did. Shop for the cuddly collectables at HBC.com and come to shop at our new location at 5630 Dunbar St, at 41st St., starting February 1, 2008. |
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Newsletter # 125 |
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