Luck was smiling on me yesterday. I was gifted two tickets to see the dress rehearsal of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies!

Now don’t get all excited I’m not going to spill the beans about what I saw or who performed. I respect the producers wish to keep it a surprise. What I will do is tell you how I felt and the challenges and success of actually getting in to BC Place to see the dress rehearsal.

To start with the the line ups of people were amazing. We started at Robson and Beatty at 3:40pm and we didn’t get into BC Place until 5:05pm. Now luckily the dress rehearsal only had about a 1/3 capacity inside so if you are seeing the Official Opening Ceremonies I highly recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get inside so you don’t miss a thing.

The actual entrance into BC Place was at the corner of Nelson and Pacific and it was a bit of a zoo. Not much if any signage and no crowd fencing so it was almost a bit like a mosh pit. The Energy was electric, I saw many people I knew in the crowd and all faces were smiling and full of anticipation. I was already starting to feel my Canadian pride seeing how well mannered we all were + the huge volunteer force in their Olympic outfits.

So after getting through the airport like security we are now inside BC Place. Another line up at the concession stand. This was actually slower and more painful than security. Staff are really unsure and they actually ran out of the veggie dog my friend ordered so we had to wait 10 minutes on the side. Ok now we are in our seats, we enjoyed the remaining moments of the preshow. the sound was a bit echoed but that is what a dress rehearsal is for. To fix technical difficulties.

6pm sharp the dress rehearsal begins and my heart filled with pride. Multiple times during the show I had tears of joy in my eyes. The show was magnificent and even though most of the big performers weren’t there I was uplifted and truly awed. I think the world will really understand what it means to be Canadian. More importantly I think this will help Canadians remember what it means to be Canadian.

My only disappointment from the night is the realization that I won’t get to see in live on opening night. If you are going be loud, be proud, be Canadian!

Marc Smith www.twitter.com@amuseconsulting

So yesterday’s blog article on the Olympics generated quite a bit of private comments to me about the #1 concern which is how to effectively get around the city during the Games.

These are the 8 Tips and Tricks I recommend.

1. Check out the http://travelsmart2010.ca/ website for all the up to date Transit information, maps, trip planners, travel alerts, & business preparedness tips + road closures.

2. Did you know that if you have an Olympic event ticket this is also good as your transit pass for the day! That’s free unlimited transit for the entire day of the event you are going to! Includes everything but the West Coast Express.

3. For non Olympic related activities/errands/work consider travelling into the downtown core before noon. Most Olympic events taking place in Vancouver and Richmond are scheduled to start after 12 noon.

4. Translink is also offering 6 week Limited Edition transit passes. These are available now and are valid from Feb 8, 2010 to March 21, 2010.

5. If you have a smart phone and are on Twitter follow them. Translink will be real time monitoring these sites and information gathered will be fed to the dispatch center. Jhenifer Pabillano, Online Communications Advisor for Translink is also a great resource and is responsible for the http://buzzer.translink.ca/ Blog.

6. If you have an IPHONE download the free Translink APP. It is a bit clumsy but all the schedules are updated and it utilizes the GPS in the phone to help you find stops near you. You can find the APP by entering TRANSLINK in the APP Store search. Best of all it’s FREE!

7. Depending on your departure to final destination points give yourself some extra time. This way you are not adding any additional stress on yourself and it will ensure less “transit” rage.

8. Smile and be helpful to locals and tourists alike. A smile is infectious and will help in lowering transit tension.

What are your thoughts and ideas about getting around Vancouver during the Olympics? Please let me know what you think. Look forward to your comments.

Having missed Expo 86 I am very excited to be able to partake in all the fun and events that will be happening in and around Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. I’m even planning to do a day trip up to Whistler just to be a part of the energy and excitement that will be up there.

Thanks to a couple of great websites (www.miss604.com 04 and www.citycaucus.ca) I’ve been able to scout some of the best and FREE events that will be happening around the city.

Here are my top three pics

1. LiveCity Yaletown – I think this is going to be the hot spot downtown for live events. Running from 11am to 11pm Feb 13th to Feb 28th. To find out the full listing of scheduled performances click here

2. Casa Italia – We all know how much I love good food….. Well I am sure that Casa Italia will not disappoint. Located at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown it will be open daily to the public between Feb 6 – 28th from noon until 6pm daily.

3. Heineken House (Holland) – the must Go See pavilion of the 2010 Games. Located near the Richmond O-Zone it is expected this “party” palace will serve in excess of 90,000 people. Open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m daily they will serve up equal portions of Heineken and performances by Dutch Artists. A must see!

Holland Heineken House Virtual Tour - click here to view

So now you know some of the places I’ll be. Where will you be?