What’s a modern-day Olympics without mascots?

Well, definitely still exciting but perhaps a little less fun.  If you were able to watch any of the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the emphasis on the traditional “First Nations” was obvious.  The media and marketing moguls have carried it a bit further by designing some cute, cuddly little mascots inspired by native creatures.  Here’s a few to look for:

• Sumi — (the mascot for the paralympic games) is an animal spirit with the hat of a whale, Thunderbird wings and the furry legs of a black bear.
• Quatchi — a friendly, if rather shy, young sasquatch, who wisely wears boots and earmuffs
• Miga — a mythical sea bear, who’s part orca and part Kermode bear

If you go to the official website you and your kids can play games with Quatchi and the other mascots.  I don’t know about you, but it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to competing in the Olympics!