Canada Games Torch relay to wind through Prince George

Only a few will get to be carriers when the 2015 Canada Winter Games torch relay takes to the city's streets Friday, but it will still take thousands to create the celebratory atmosphere.

That's why everyone is welcome, indeed encouraged, to line the way during a two-hour procession to mark the opening of the 18-day winter sport and cultural celebration.

2015 Canada Winter Games communications manager Alyson Gourley-Cramer is hoping to see the same enthusiasm that emerged when the torch made its first appearance during the 100 Days Out ceremony in early November, and then some.

"It's really fun," Gourley-Cramer said. "It's just so fun to see people out there cheering and taking pictures and throwing confetti and just showing their spirit.

"At the 100 Day Out event we had people with face paint and noise makers and you name it. It brings it back to what's important and that's the support of the community in putting on these Games."

The relay begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Canada Games Plaza next to the Civic Centre and by the time it reaches CN Centre for the opening ceremonies, 46 carriers will have taken turns parading the torch.

They will have followed a route that goes through downtown, then winds through the Crescents neighbourhood, then along 17th Avenue and Massey Drive, and after a few more twists and turns through the Pinewood neighbourhood, to its final destination.

There, a 47th carrier, whose name remains a secret, will carry the torch into the arena and light a cauldron that will remain burning until the Games end on March 2.

The torch has already travelled through 27 communities in northern BC since the 100 Days Out Celebration. And that was after a province-wide tour that began in Victoria in mid-October following a lighting ceremony in Ottawa.

The torch is comprised of two panels, front and rear, with the Canada Games logo the primary forward facing graphic that leads all torch events.

It "symbolizes the unifying body that works to promote competition and excellence in athletics across Canada in all sports, both summer and winter," according to a Canada Games description.

The rear panel is decorated by the host community to "capture and promote the additional, local values and traditions of sport" and is given to the host society's president at the end of each games to provide a historic record.

The Canada Games Torch was renamed the Roly McLenahan Torch in 1985, in honor of an original member of the Canada Games Council. Following a career in professional hockey, he became the New Brunswick's first director of sport in 1961, and remained in that position for 23 years.

He was also a director of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, and a director of Hockey Canada and helped found the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, and the New Brunswick Amateur Hockey Association.