SilverStar Mountain Resort's village in February, 2022. (Liam Verster / Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Winter Games Ceremony

SilverStar hosts B.C. Winter Games torch lighting

Dec 9, 2022 | 1:00 PM

The lighting of the Greater Vernon B.C. Winter Games torch will be held at SilverStar.

The torch lighting ceremony to be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, launches the countdown to the Winter Games which will see athletes from around the province compete in a number of sporting events from March 23 to 26, 2023.

The ceremony will be held as part of an evening of activities at the mountain resort.

“We are so excited that we have partnered with SilverStar Mountain Resort and Destination SilverStar as part of their annual light-up celebration. So the ceremonial torch lighting is happening as part of the light-up and we’re really excited that this is happening,” Cindy Masters, vice president of the Greater Vernon 2022 B.C. Winter Games Society, told Vernon Matters.

“And of course during the SilverStar light-up, there are a lot of things happening at the [artisan] market, and we will be involved in having a display and sign-up where volunteers can sign up to be part of the B.C. Winter Games as part of the Polson [Artisan] Market.”

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The market will be open from 6 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10, and the mountain will be running the gondola for people to ride free of charge.

The Torch Lighting Ski Parade will go at 7 p.m. and see athletes competing in the Winter Games bring the torch down the hill to the village for the lighting.

Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis, Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming and RDNO Area C Director Amanda Shatzko will light the torch, and then there will be a series of speeches.

The event will conclude with a fireworks show at 7:30 p.m.

The activities are free to attend, and Masters suggested people should plan to come up early as there may be some traffic buildup along the road to the resort. She added there will be a shuttle service available from Parking Lot B.

Unlike the Olympic torch, the B.C. Winter Games torch will not stay on display after the ceremony on Dec. 10. It will be brought back out for another lighting at the opening ceremonies in March.

Masters said they have about 700 people signed on as volunteers as of time of publication, but they hope to get that up past the 1,000 mark by the end of the year.