Pam and I had a little free time this weekend, so on Saturday, we headed over to the waterfront, and were among the first couple of thousand people who walked around the new Convention Centre. The project, which has been underway as long as we can remember (and probably was officially started before we even arrived here in 2005), has come in horribly over budget, and I do remember stories of some of the metal used in the building being stolen. However it is done, and in time for the Olympics, as well as a few year’s worth of convention bookings in the space from 2010 onward.
Pam and I both liked the architecture of the building, especially the impressive wood walls and green roof. It’s definitely as much an ecological statement as it is a building; there are even resident beehives and a beekeeper for maintaining them. I understand that this wasn’t the first time that some of the general public had seen the inside, as friend and blogger Tiny Bites covered the 2009 BC Restaurant Hall of Fame gala at the same venue a few days ago.
The space is large, but several places get the great view of the Burrard Inlet and the mountains. For this opening day, they had several acrobats and other performers on hand, and I got some video of them. Here’s a tour, including a performance from a group who’s dressing room said ‘Cirque’. I’ve looked and not found anything that said it was Cirque du Soleil, but I’m thinking it certainly looked like them:
Here are some other stills, if you are not keen on watching video of some of the same:
Want more? Here’s a slideshow on Flickr that has these plus a few more:
Slideshow: Opening Day at the Vancouver Convention Centre
Hey David,
Looks like we just missed each other! I got the same vids posted on facebook. I went with a friend towards the end of the afternoon (had to take in the flash mob pillow fight at VAG first!), and was so impressed that I returned on Sunday morning.
Definitely a boon to Vancouver, despite the astronomical cost!
Cheers,
a.
Great post and nice shots. We have some more video on our YouTube channel if you’re interested. Thanks for coming.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vancouverconvention
Thanks! Glad you opened the doors that day.
Not Cirque du Soleil, but thanks for the compliment. It’s The Underground Circus, and building the puppet took about a month of no sleep. Our website is http://www.undergroundcircus.ca, if you’d like more info.
Peter
Thanks for the info and the link. The month of lost sleep was well worth the effort. We were all blown away.