Not many of us existed, much less remember the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary. Yet that is the last time Canada has had a chance to host the world’s biggest sporting party. Yes, it is a party. Vancouver 2010 is serving up a heaping helping of its hospitality, by showcasing Canadian culture and music throughout the running of VANOC’s five-ring circus.

Amongst all the excitement is the list of major concerts coming to town during the fourteen-day celebration of sport. Some of the bigger draws will include Fiest, K’Naan, City and Colour and Stars. All of which are performing shows for under $40. According to the Olympic website, there are 109 concerts associated with the event including some lesser known, but still quite interesting acts like: Spirit of Uganda, Florence K and Bell Orchestre. Even if you did not get lucky in the sporting ticket draw, there are plenty of shows to be experienced in the downtown area.

There are several public art exhibits going on during the span of the Olympics as well, including The Passion of Joan of Arc in which a new soundtrack has been added to the famous 1928 silent film. Another exhibition worth noting is The Candahar. Irish artist Theo Sims has recreated the interior of a now defunct Irish pub that will be a venue for various events throughout the month as well as a piece of art itself.

Keep your eyes open for “Vectorial Elevation,” a light show using 20 searchlights spread out across English Bay, transforming the night sky into a massive light sculpture where anyone can upload their ideas to vancouver2010.com/code. The chosen designs will be cycled through at 12 seconds per design and will run from dusk ‘til dawn daily throughout all of February.

No matter your stance on the importance of the Olympics, it is obvious that what is happening is rare and it will be a long time until it happens here again. Therefore we must take full advantage of this opportunity. Thanks to various events offered during the Cultural Olympiad, running parallel to the Olympic and Paralympic games, Vancouverites and visitors can enjoy the Olympic spirit even if they missed out on tickets to the gold medal hockey match.

For an entire list on the events offered during the Cultural Olympiad go to vancouver2010.com/cultural-festivals-and-events/