MEDIA ADVISORY - TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay to Continue Journey Through Niagara Region on June 20

Pan Am flame to visit Games venues, day celebration at Lakeside Park and evening celebration at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls

TORONTO, June 18 2015 /CNW/ - On Saturday, June 20, Day 21 of the Pan Am Games Torch Relay, presented by President's Choice® and OLG, the Pan Am flame will visit several communities in the Niagara Region, including Welland, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.

The Pan Am flame will begin the day at the Welland Market Square for the Saturday morning farmers' market before visiting the Welland Community Wellness Complex and the Welland Pan Am Flatwater Centre, the Pan Am venue for canoe/kayak – sprint competitions. The flame will then make its way to St. Catharines for a community celebration at Lakeside Park where community torchbearer Connor Rollo will light the cauldron. After another Pan Am venue visit to the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course and a trip on Hornblower Niagara Cruises, the flame will head to the evening celebration at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 (Relay Day 21: Welland, ON, to Niagara Falls, ON)

Welland Market Square – 10:15 a.m. (ET) (50 Market Square, Welland)
Photo opportunity:

• Community torchbearer Nancy Gee will be the first torchbearer of the day.

Welland Pan Am Flatwater Centre – 11:15 a.m. (ET) (16 Townline Tunnel Road (58A) at Canalbank Street, Welland)
Photo opportunity:

• Flame will be carried along the Welland Canal on a K-4 kayak by Lillian Culp. 

Lakeside Park – (9 Main Street, St. Catharines)
Day celebration:

• Flame will arrive at 2:30 p.m. carried by community torchbearer Connor Rollo.
• Jessica McDonald, three-time world medallist and Pan Am medallist, wrestling, will carry the flame out of the day celebration.

Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course – 3:45 p.m. (ET) (57 Main Street, St. Catharines)
Photo opportunity:

• Local rower Oniqua Kamaka will take the flame aboard a rowboat.

Hornblower Niagara Cruises – 6 p.m. (ET) (5920 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls)
Photo opportunity:

• Richard Deschatelets, community torchbearer and Pan Am and Commonwealth Games multi-medallist in wrestling, will carry the Pan Am flame onboard the Hornblower.

Queen Victoria Park – (Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls)
Evening celebration:

• Kathleen Hunt, community torchbearer and Pan Am Games gold medallist in badminton, will arrive with the Pan Am flame at 7 p.m. and light the community cauldron.
• Francesco Yates 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 21 highlight images and videos are available on Flickr by copying and pasting this URL into a web browser:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/133157263@N06/103hKD.

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]