The Olympic Torch’s passage through Orillia caused a media frenzy, after reports surfaced on the internet that Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds was one of the event’s torchbearers.

Yes, Ryan Reynolds was there – the other one that is.

Ryan Reynolds, a mechanic hailing from Barrie, was one of the lucky few chosen to carry the Olympic torch through Mississauga Street.

“I’m the other Ryan Reynolds, just not as buff,” he jokes.

Not surprisingly, a number of spectators came to the torch relay route in hopes of catching a glimpse of the actor’s appearance. Despite realizing Ryan Reynolds was not the person they expected, they still posed with the torchbearer for pictures when they learned his name.

Reynolds comments that the celebrity treatment is an added bonus to the pride he feels in carrying the torch and representing his city. The torchbearer is an avid winter sports enthusiast, and Canada hosting the Winter Olympics is to him, something to be very proud of.

There were however, a handful of spectators who had no idea who Ryan Reynolds is.
Keri Justin, a spectator along the relay’s route, had never heard of Ryan Reynolds – both actor, and mechanic. According to him, he only showed up to support Canada’s athletes and witness the event.

The streets of Barrie were a sea of red as thousands of locals and people from surrounding areas flocked to the city to witness the historic Olympic torch relay. From red toques, mitts, scarves, and other winter clothes in red, Canadians came to the event proudly wearing the country’s national color.

City officials estimate the crowd to be over 10,000 strong. And despite the cold brought about by the winter season, thousands still showed up to take part in the spectacle. Once-in-a-lifetime was the most commonly used phrase by those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Olympic flame as it passed through the Barrie’s streets.

From little tots, teens, adults, and the elderly, it seemed that everyone in the region regarded the event as something truly unique and special.

Kate Aditya, a resident of Barrie who moved in 5 months ago, was just one of the many locals who grabbed the opportunity to witness this momentous event. With 3 kids in tow donning their full winter gear, Aditya and her family braved the cold to watch the cauldron-lighting ceremony held in the city hall.

Aside from a few protesters, Barrie police officer Dave Hossack thinks the event went very smoothly, with no reports on hurt spectators or crime during the torch relay.

The Olympic Torch is officially making a stop in the city of Barrie, and to help folks arrive at the Olympic Torch Relay Community Celebration ground safely and in one piece, Barrie Transit will be offering free rides on regular routes from 5 in the afternoon to 9 in the evening – hours that city officials expect for residents and tourists to start flocking to the streets.

To those bringing vehicles, you can park your cars in the general City Hall area. Parking will also be available in other areas like the Barrie Public Library area, Heritage Park, and the Collier Street Parkade.

Roads will be closed at these locations during these times:

• Collier Street, Owen Street, and Mulcaster Street from – Closed from 7 a.m. on December to 6 p.m. on January 1

• Mulcaster Street and Poyntz Street – Closed from 4 p.m. on December 29 to 10 p.m. on the same day

• Dunlop Street and Worsley Street – Closed from 4 p.m. on December 29 to 10 p.m. of the same day

Olympic torchbearers will be carrying the flame across Barrie on these dates. City officials expect the turnout to be massive, with crowds similar to those experienced by other regions in Ontario had when the torch paid a visit.

Mitchell’s Christmas wish was simple. All he wanted was for his sick wife to be home for the holidays. He didn’t really care about a special celebration; he was more concerned about being together with his wife. Little did he know that he and his sweetheart were about to have a special homemade holiday dinner, for free.

That’s exactly what he and his wife Cheley enjoyed yesterday, courtesy of no other than Barrie’s Queen of Catering, Rose Romita.

Mitchell, whose last name he chose to keep private, said that this year’s Christmas would have been a bit quiet, had he not joined Rose Romita’s annual Christmas dinner.

His wife Cheley on the other hand, wanted a change of scenery from the dull hospital walls to something more cheerful. And like any loving wife, she wanted a special holiday dinner for her husband to enjoy.

Cheley and Mitchell were just among the dozens of lonely and less fortunate souls in Barrie that had a taste of Romita’s excellent cooking. Her yearly Christmas dinner was held at the Trinity Anglican Church, with folks from outside the city coming in to enjoy the warm halls, not to mention the sumptuous food.

Romita admits to being tired and overwhelmed from all the holiday work, but she says that by holding her annual dinner, she’s celebrating Christmas in the best and most satisfying way possible – by giving to the community.

The City of Barrie’s Christmas Kettle Campaign is in its home stretch and needs one last push to make it to its goal.

As of Wednesday, the campaign has raised $363,132 in donations – that’s over 90% of the Salvation Army’s annual $400,000 objective.

According to Major Roy Randell, head of the Salvation Army’s Barrie Bayside Mission Centre, he’s happy Barrie’s residents have stepped up to the plate by writing cheques, bringing in credit card donations, calling in, and coming with help at the wee hours of the night.

He admits to originally setting the fundraiser’s goal to be lower, but with today’s tough times, $400,000 was a much better amount to help the less fortunate with.

Donations have been coming in on a non-stop rush – Tuesday this week saw kettles bringing in $15,781, while Wednesday had a haul of $10,000.

The Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Kettle Campaign helps maintain the organization’s Barrie headquarters, as well as its camps for teens, church services, and free meal programs for the needy.

On the 25th of December or Christmas day, the Salvation Army will also hold a big Christmas dinner at noon at their Bayside Mission Centre, together with a supper in the evening.

The Holidays look to be a major challenge for Barrie’s undisputed queen of catering.

Rose Romita, and her kitchen assistants whom she lovingly calls her elves, have their hands full yet again, as they await the arrival of Christmas day.

Each year, Romita holds a Christmas dinner that’s open to the City of Barrie’s residents. After witnessing the large number of people who showed up for her Thanksgiving bash (of whom most were kids), she expects Christmas to bring in even more people.

Rose Romita’s annual Christmas dinner is set to take place at Barrie’s Trinity Anglican Church, kicking off at noon, and lasting until the evening. Aside from dinner, other activities will also take place like a special appearance from Santa, and games with prizes to be given away. Residents will also be invited to join in on some karaoke fun.

But given that more children are expected to come on the 25th, Romita needs more toy donations to make sure each child receives something for Christmas.

She also adds that food donations from the public will go a long way, as a food shortage isn’t out of the picture just yet.

Romita’s Christmas menu will include turkey, vegetables and a variety of salads, and many, many more.

The City of Barrie is not one to take a break during the holidays. In fact, local groups of all types are working double-time to make the Yuletide season special for their respective communities. And because of all that dedication, Barrie’s residents have another event to look forward to before the year ends.

Locals and neighbors from nearby communities are invited to celebrate the Spirit of Christmas with Christmas with the Family, a special presentation featuring plenty of assorted Christmas Pop favorites. Children and families are in for a treat as familiar Christmas tunes both new and old play throughout the night, guaranteeing a magical and special night for everyone one in attendance.

The presentation will also feature guest conductor Danielle Lisboa and renowned cellist John Trembath. Lisboa will be doing a short talk called the “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”, which is a wonderful and informative way to spend the Christmas season with friends and family.

The concert is set to take place at Barrie’s Central United Church on December 20, 2009. The show officially starts exactly at 3:30pm. Tickets are priced at $80.00 for adults, $40.00 for students and $8.00 for children below 12.

For more details and information on the event, log-on to www.huroniasymphony.ca.

The City of Barrie’s Christmas Cheer might’ve been created to help the less fortunate, but right now, it needs some big help of its own.

Christmas Cheer is a holiday charity program aimed at raising funds to provide help to hundreds of needy families during the yuletide season. But it’s facing a brick wall right now, due to cash shortage.

According to Kory Hopkins, spokesman for Christmas Cheer, this year the fund is over $100,000 short, although he adds that the same scenario happened last year, when they lacked $70,000 to make the goal. He says that all it takes is just one more small push, but he knows that Barrie’s citizens can pull it off, just like they did last year.

Organizers estimate that over 1800 families or 4900 people will show up at the event on the 22nd of December. To cope with that larger number, the program has enlisted roughly 400 volunteers to help out in distributing donations.

This year, the fundraiser set a goal of $207,000, with the last day of donations on Friday noon this week. The big event is set to be held at the Flags Unlimited building’s parking lot, a spacious area fit to accommodate the droves of people expected to show up.

Barrie’s Monsignor Clair School is doing its way to help the community by taking part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights write-a-thon, a letter-writing movement that aims to encourage world leaders to protect and uphold the importance of human rights.

Over the past few days since the school has joined in on the cause, students have been busy typing and writing their letters.

Student Connor Reikou comments she’s proud to have written 4 letters so far. She hopes that the government leaders she’s written to hear her message and help bring peace and protect children.

The Write for Rights program is a yearly activity that is part of the annual International Human Rights Day, which takes place on December 10. The students from Monsignor Clair School, have been given a head start, writing as many letters as they can before the arrival of the big day.

The children’s letters will be sent to government leaders in Columbia, Darfur, Chad, Solovakia and here at home and the United States.

Children wrote to Canada’s leaders to help Aboriginal children have access to health care.

Rachel Jovitt, another student who wrote some letters herself, said that writing to people and sharing her ideas feels good. She comments that children have opinions too; it’s just that nobody ever listens anymore.

After what seemed like an eternal wait, Dancing with the Stars Barrie’s gala is finally taking place on Sunday.

Aside from providing a source of fun and wholesome entertainment, the competition also serves as an avenue to raise funds for the Barrie Public Library’s satellite branch in the south.

And in true “Spirit of Christmas style”, some of Barrie’s most recognizable faces slipped on their dancing shoes to help the important cause and vie for the competition’s top spot.

Since its start on November 4 this year, the Tranter Institute has been largely responsible for organizing and setting up the fun competition.

To help out the amateur dancers perform at their peak levels, professional and seasoned dance instructors were brought in to demonstrate slick moves and give dancers advice on how to give the competition their best shot.

Gala tickets are priced at $25, while a VIP ticket on the other hand costs $50 with a complimentary limousine ride to and from the event, and dinner at the acclaimed Shutter’s Restaurant. If you want to have a peek at the contestants’ looks and dance moves, you can log-on to www.tranterinstitute.com.

The gala is set to take place at the Georgian College Theatre, with some surprise performances awaiting those lucky enough to score tickets on time.