Media Advisory - TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay to Celebrate in Northern Ontario on June 2

Pan Am flame to visit Sault Ste. Marie City Hall, afternoon celebration in Blind River and evening celebration in Greater Sudbury

TORONTO, May 27, 2015 /CNW/ - On Tuesday, June 2, Day 4 of the Pan Am Games Torch Relay presented by President's Choice® and OLG, the Pan Am flame will visit nine communities including Sault Ste. Marie, Bruce Mines, Thessalon, Blind River, Serpent River First Nation, Massey, Espanola, Little Current and Greater Sudbury.

The Pan Am Games Torch Relay will begin the morning in Sault Ste. Marie before travelling to Bruce Mines and then Thessalon to visit students at Thessalon Public School. During the afternoon, the Pan Am flame will take a ride on a voyageur canoe in Blind River, accompanied by 89-year-old Clarence Paris of the Algoma Paddlers Canoe and Kayak Club. The day will conclude in Greater Sudbury where the Pan Am flame will visit the famous Big Nickel, before community torchbearer Robert Rogers lights the community cauldron at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre in Bell Park at the evening celebration.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015 (Relay Day 4: Sault Ste. Marie, ON to Greater Sudbury, ON)

Sault Ste. Marie City Hall – 8:15 a.m. (ET) (99 Foster Drive, Sault Ste. Marie)
Start of day celebration:

•   Justin Tetreault will be the first torchbearer of Day 4

Thessalon Public School – 10:45 a.m. (ET) (90 Stanley Street, Thessalon)
School celebration:

• PACHI presentation with students
• Anthony McCabe, vice-principal, will carry the Pan Am flame

Thessalon Town Hall – 11 a.m. (ET) (187 Main Street, Thessalon)
Community celebration:

• Volunteer recognition day in Thessalon where community torchbearer Patricia Fluke will arrive with the Pan Am flame
• Torchbearer Anna Lovelace will depart with the Pan Am flame

Algoma Paddlers Canoe and Kayak Club – 12:10 p.m. (ET) (25 Chiblow Street, Blind River)
Photo opportunity:

• 89-year-old Clarence Paris, the club's oldest member, will carry the Pan Am flame down Blind River while aboard the voyageur canoe  

Town Park – (ET) (147 Woodward Avenue, Blind River)
Day celebration:

• Community torchbearer Kathryn Pellarin will arrive with the Pan Am flame at 12:30 p.m.
• Andrew Labbee, student, will be the first torchbearer to depart with Pan Am flame

Serpent River Trading Post – 2:30 p.m. (ET) (479 Highway 17, Cutler)
Community celebration:

• Torchbearer Orville Commanda will arrive with the Pan Am flame 
• Torchbearer Zane Johnston will depart with the Pan Am flame

Dynamic Earth – 5:50 p.m. (ET) (122 Big Nickel Mine Drive, Sudbury)
Photo opportunity:

• Lance Cryderman, Paralympian, boccia, will carry the Pan Am flame underground, then travel to ground level for a photo opportunity with the Big Nickel

Grace Hartman Amphitheatre – (900 Paris Street - Bell Park, Sudbury)
Evening celebration:

• Tessa Bonhomme, Olympic medallist, hockey, will pass the flame to community torchbearer Robert Rogers, the final torchbearer who will light the community cauldron at 7 p.m.
• Gypsy Kumbia will perform at the 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 4 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/qL52fj

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

Melissa Iafrate, Coordinator, marketing and communications, TO2015, 647.225.4002, [email protected]