Vancouver and Whistler just hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. At the closing ceremony, it had become clear that this was the best organized and the most supported, by the local population, Games.
Canadians tend to be a quiet and observant nation. We also are known as a caring and supportive group of people. We enjoy a multicultural society, and each region of the country has specific strengths/supportive community feeling. It's not often that we describe ourselves, publicly anyway, as Canadians. Usually it's about being a Quebecois, with that French flair, or an Albertan, with the oil and cowboy background, and those phenomenal Rockies. In B.C., we're known as the Coast by the rest of the country (even when we live in the Interior!).
Those who organized the Olympic Games, though, did an inspired thing. The Torch arrived from Greece, right to Victoria, the capital city of B.C., and from there it was part of a relay throughout Canada. The Northwest Territories, all 10 Canadian Provinces, and many different communities within those areas. The enthusiasm of each region was palpable.
The Olympics this year were like any good Greek play...it began with tragedy, and the very very sad news of the death of the Georgian luge competitor, in a practice run, just before the Opening Ceremony. There were glitches with some of the hydrolics involved, in an Opening Ceremony display. A competitor's mother died, arriving in Vancouver, to watch her daughter skate. Those who threatened to disrupt the Games, as they were not "for" the Olympics, turned up from all over, just as they had promised they would. Suddenly, though, it all dissipated, and was completely swallowed up by the welcoming embrace of the locals in both Vancouver and in Whistler.
I have to say, it seemed a very strange Canadian thing to paint the maple leaf flag on cheekbones, but there they were, in all age groups, smiling at the cameras panning the streets. There was triumph and disappointment at the Games, as always. The euphoria of the Quebec moguls athlete, with his brother, afflicted with Cerebral Palsy, at his side (as he always was), when he won Gold for Canada. The girl who fell, coming down the slope at Cypress Mountain, who got up, got back onto her skis, and finished her course....she wanted to make that last trick element on the last jump, and did it! Now there was a message! The man who won Silver, who said he was just stunned to be at the Olympics in the first place, and silver was terrific. The Gold Medal slider who strode through the streets of Whistler (he was from Manitoba), accepted the beer, and ended up on the interview with his entire family, and did some sample auctioneering (his day job?). He summed it up best by saying it was great to compete, in friendly rivalry, with the best of the best in the world.
It seemed like the entire population erupted in that spirit of friendly competition, and the Closing Ceremony certainly reminded us of the value of sport. The head of the Vancouver Olympic Committee thanked the volunteers, and the city residents, and reminded us all that peace had reigned during this sports competition.
The message of the Olympics seemed to be about participation, about committment, about perseverence (four years of training, lack of funds in many cases, dark cold mornings of training, of accidents en route, of keeping on keeping on, of not forgetting the overall goal, of accepting the support of one's nearest and dearest...definitely a script for those in real estate sales, in what has been a troubling two year period, to date). To be passionate about what one "does", to "go for it", to not lose heart, to be in the moment, and to remember those who help us, so we can pass it on when it's our turn to be a mentor. So many lessons!
Did this have a spinoff into real estate land, especially in the luxury segment offered in Vancouver (San Francisco of the north?) and in Whistler (an Aspen kind of address)? I think what happened was a "discovery moment", generally. The entire city, which is known as one of the most beautiful and also one of the most liveable cities in the world, welcomed the world during this Olympics period. Even when one wasn't there in person, but watching on t.v. or via the Web, that population response was clearly evident.
Canada as a whole reached out to the world. Although fun was made of the very early Spring that the Coast experienced, this coverage certainly made sure that the world knew we're not the land of ice and snow on this thin ribbon of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Vancouver's very cosmopolitan ambiance, with a population from all over the world, now calling Vancouver home, and the same with the eclectic and international population in Whistler, was also a message of invitation to the world. Come...check us out....this may see return visits within a 3 to 5 month period.
Sea to Sky is also the name of the highway linking Vancouver and Whistler. This description really captures the essence of the entire coastal region, though...Vancouver Island, Victoria, Gulf Islands (including Salt Spring Island), Sunshine Coast on the Lower Mainland, Vancouver and its environs, Whistler....did you know you can ski in the morning and sail in the afternoon, here? Where else in the world can one offer that? Whether it's a result of topography (this thin ribbon of coast lies between the sea and significant mountain ranges) or community bylaws capping growth, there is a limited inventory of useable land for development on the Coast.
We are so close to Seattle...a two hour drive and you're here, if you're coming out of Washington State/the Seattle area. Bellingham is even closer. It's a two hour flight from San Francisco.
The welcome mat is out, and I think the world found our Canadian attitudes rather "interesting". We really do say "eh" at the end of a sentence. We really are polite. We really do want to do our best for others. It really is important to us that harmony reigns. A Seattle attendee at the Olympics dropped his video camera on the street, while looking for his tickets to an event. Two Canadians found it, put a Youtube up to find the owner, who saw it on a Seattle t.v. story, and got his camera back.
Beauty, a welcoming population, a stable country economically and politically....a limited inventory in real estate offerings....hmmm....I would say something started at the Olympics, and it's just begun.
How may I help you to discover special Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands? Call me!
