Media 2010 Games Blog Looking for the Aboriginal Pavilion but finding Deutschland
| Looking for the Aboriginal Pavilion but finding Deutschland |
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Today I decided to visit aboriginal themed pavilions . My first stop was The Kla-howya: Aboriginal Village Welcome. It is located in the Pan Pacific Hotel. I got lost as I sometimes do, walked in the opposite direction and ended up at the German Fan Fest House on Cordova Street instead. Since the lineup wasn't long, I decided to go in and take a look. At the entrance, a security guard asked me how old I was. When I answered 18, she told me (in a German accent) that I could go in but couldn’t buy any beer. So, in the tent I went. The atmosphere was rather good, with everyone holding a beer stein and a German sausage hot dog. When I got back to Cordova Street, I asked one of the Games volunteers for directions to the Pan Pacific Hotel. The first floor of the Pan Pacific had an Olympic Information desk with volunteers to direct people like me. The second floor of the hotel was the media centre, which is off-limits to most people. Finally, on the third floor I found the Aboriginal Village and Business Showcase. I saw many handicrafts for sale and I really liked the longboat on display in the middle of the stage. The Aboriginal Artisan Village and Business Showcase was my next stop. The showcase featured clothing, shoes, belts and other handmade accessories from different first nations. The clothes were one-of-a-kind and reflected their culture while keeping up to date with today’s fashions.
It was raining when I got to the 2010 Aboriginal Pavilion. The line up was exceptionally long! But since many people said the performances inside were worth the wait, I decided to join the line up. Half way up the queue I started talking with one of the security guards. He told me that the performance would be one of their signature shows, but that it wouldn’t start for another hour and a half, and that we would have to wait outside until then. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to cultivate my patience. I was relieved when I finally got inside and out of the cold rain. The pavilion is a wooden building topped by a small, round dome. Inside there is a stage. A lady started the show with a speech in her aboriginal mother tongue. She was telling us, she said, that she was happy to see us and who her parents were; in her culture, it is their way to indicate where a person stands in family or clan seniority. Then, a movie was projected on the inside of the dome, giving the shots of BC scenery, aboriginal culture and the city of Vancouver a wrap around, you- are- there feeling
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