Media Advisory - TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay Celebrates in Communities from Newmarket to Whitchurch-Stouffville

Pan Am flame to visit Bradford West Gwillimbury Leisure Centre for afternoon celebration, Recreational Outdoor Campus in Georgina and evening celebration at Whitchurch-Stouffville Memorial Park

TORONTO, June 25, 2015 /CNW/ - On Friday, June 26, Day 27 of the Pan Am Games Torch Relay, presented by President's Choice® and OLG, the Pan Am flame will visit seven communities: Newmarket, Sharon, Holland Landing, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Keswick, Mount Albert and Whitchurch-Stouffville.

The Pan Am flame will start the day at the Newmarket Health Centre, before heading north to visit Sharon and Holland Landing. A community celebration will be held at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Leisure Centre before the Pan Am flame heads to the Georgina Ice Palace, where Chris Tierney, NHL hockey player, will carry the Pan Am flame. After leaving the Ice Palace, Shannon Doyle will take the Pan Am flame ziplining in Georgina. The day will conclude in Whitchurch-Stouffville where Karen Cockburn, Olympic medallist in trampoline, will light the community cauldron at Whitchurch-Stouffville Memorial Park as the day's final torchbearer.

Friday, June 26, 2015 (Relay Day 27: Newmarket, ON to Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON)     

Newmarket Health Centre – 10:20 a.m. (ET) (194 Eagle Street, Newmarket)
Start of day celebration:

• Jo-Ann Whitton will depart the celebration carrying the Pan Am flame and will pass it to Lennox Lewis, former world heavyweight champion and Olympic medallist, boxing

East Gwillimbury Civic Centre – 12 p.m. (ET) (19000 Leslie Street, Sharon)
Photo opportunity:

• Community torchbearer Brandon Wright will arrive carrying the Pan Am flame

Bradford West Gwillimbury Leisure Centre – (471 West Park Avenue, Bradford)
Day celebration:

• Community torchbearer Teodor Mlynczyk will arrive at 1 p.m. carrying the Pan Am flame and will light the community cauldron

Georgina Ice Palace – 3:30 p.m. (ET) (90 Wexford Drive, Georgina)
Community celebration:

• NHL hockey player Chris Tierney will arrive with the Pan Am flame

Recreational Outdoor Campus – 4 p.m. (ET) (26479 Civic Centre Road, Georgina)
Photo opportunity:

• Olympic hockey gold medallist Shannon Doyle will carry the Pan Am flame while ziplining

Whitchurch-Stouffville Memorial Park – 7 p.m. (ET) (2-6 Park Drive, Whitchurch-Stouffville)
Evening celebration:

• Karen Cockburn, Olympic medallist in trampoline, will be the final torchbearer of the day and will light the community cauldron to start the evening celebration

The Pan Am Games Torch Relay is a 41-day journey that will share the Pan Am spirit in more than 130 communities. The torch relay is one of the most exciting events as it sets the stage leading up to the Games.  There will be more than 3,000 torchbearers and 180 community celebrations taking place.

Media Materials
The following torch relay items are available at TORONTO2015.org/torch-relay: relay route map, full list of communities and dates, daily highlight summaries and media vehicle registration information.

All torch relay media advisories and news releases are available on CNW. Day 27 highlight images and videos are available on Flickr by copying and pasting this URL into a web browser:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/133157263@N06/M0UmQY.

The torch relay can also be followed on Twitter.

About the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay  
The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay, presented by President's Choice® and OLG, is supported by community partner CIBC, signature supporters Star Media Group and Metroland Media, Ontario Trillium Foundation and Porter Airlines, and funding parties the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. The torch relay will invite Canadians to celebrate and share the Pan Am spirit throughout its 41-day journey towards Toronto, the Host City of the Games. The torch relay starts May 30, 2015, and concludes July 10, 2015, with the dramatic lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony in downtown Toronto.

The TORONTO 2015 Games are funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, as well as Lead Partner CIBC and other partners and sponsors.

To learn more about the torch relay and when the Pan Am flame will visit a community near you, visit TORONTO2015.org/torch-relay or download the official TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games app, presented by CIBC.

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

Jill MacCannell, Coordinator, marketing and communications, TO2015, 416.996.4076, [email protected]