Canada Olympic House does the country proud at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Posted Feb 24, 2018 7:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With a tall vaulted ceiling, huge skylight, a maple leaf bleacher seating area, and a spacious outdoor area complete with fire pits, loungers, table hockey and shuffleboard, Canada’s home away from home deserves a gold medal of its own.
Since opening its doors on February 9th, the Olympic house has been graced with a healthy mix of energized Canadian athletes, supportive friends and family, expats and plenty of excited international visitors.
This is the first time that the Canadian Olympic Committee has decided to open the house up to the general public , which was situated just outside of Gangneung Olympic Park where events like speed skating, hockey, curling and figure skating took place over the past fourteen days. True to Canadian hospitality, happy house volunteers were on-hand to provide phone chargers, free poutine (“happy hour” from 3 – 4 p.m. daily) and more. The house has also received praise for being PyeongChang’s official Pride House –making it an LGBTQ+ safe space– as well as offering gender neutral bathrooms.
Passing by tables and huddles of folks, most adorned head-to-toe in Team Canada gear, the atmosphere in the house was a lively and welcoming one. Whether you were grabbing a beer at the bar or cozied up outside around a firepit, you could strike up a conversation with Canadians hailing from coast-to-coast. Saskatoon, Halifax, Winnipeg…you name it, they were from there.
The energy in the house reached its electric peak in the evenings, when recently awarded medalists were celebrated by crowds of enthusiastic, patriotic Canadians.
Earlier this week, Air Canada surprised popular band, The Arkells with an offer of being flown over to South Korea to do some impromptu performances at Canada Olympic House.
Before heading into a fireside acoustic performance on Saturday afternoon, the band’s lead singer, Max Kerman happily explained to the Olympic house guests that their opportunity to perform for Team Canada and their fans came to be from a Twitter exchange with Air Canada and gold medalist, ice dancer Tessa Virtue.
