Strains of Canada’s national anthem swelled in Pemberton in the early hours of Saturday (Feb. 6), when the Olympic flame came to call on Day 100 of its cross-country odyssey.

When Alan Ding passed the flame to Anne Hale at the corner of Birch and Prospect streets, the flag-waving crowds at the crossroads warmly burst into song, sending sounds of “the True North strong and free” up past the red-and-white balloons bedecking the Pemberton Valley Supermarket.

Standing near the post office and holding up a Canadian flag quilt that took her about two weeks to make, Dawn Ross of the Bog Fabrics store said she’s been feeling Olympic spirit already, but now really feels the “wow” factor of the Games being here.

“This is exciting. This will never happen again,” she said.

Emerging for the flame’s 8 a.m. arrival, Pembertonians came out in force on the foggy morning to cheer on the Olympic Torch Relay and the bearers of the flame who carried it through a circuit from Highway 99 to the downtown core, including Pemberton’s Logan Wiltse and CBC News anchor Ian Hanomansing.

Len and Patty Ritchie, who proudly carried large Canadian flags with the help of wooden stakes, were among the crowds who lined the streets to welcome the torch and its smiling carriers. The Ritchies said they attended the torch relay celebrations to show community spirit and enjoy the opportunity.

Len Ritchie remarked on the “really good turnout” on a beautiful morning with the fog lifting fast. He said he’s been feeling some Olympic spirit, but seeing the torch pass through the town “really tops it off.”

“It’s like a chance in a lifetime to see the Olympics in our little hometown,” Patty Ritchie said.

Frontier Street resident Mike Marshall was woken up by the shouts of the announcer on one of the sponsor trucks that preceded the torchbearers, letting everyone know the flame was minutes away. A past torchbearer for the 1988 Games relay as an excited 14-year-old, Marshall had set his alarm to make sure he would get up in time to see the flame pass his house, but the snooze button got in the way.

Marshall said carrying the torch was a big deal for him and his family, and he was excited leading up to the big day 22 years ago. But until he ran with the flame outside London, Ont., and saw the thrilled expressions on the faces of the people who lined the route to be part of the experience, “I had no idea what it meant to that many other Canadians,” he said.

Seeing the excitement in Pemberton, and feeling his own sense of anticipation from watching the flame pass his house, Marshall said the questions and concerns some people have held about how the Games will affect them seem to be melting away.

When the torch came through, he said, the worries “all kind of got forgotten. I think people realized this is going to be pretty cool.”

After the flame had moved on to Mount Currie, locals flocked to the Cottonwood Community Centre and enjoyed the host of activities that were planned to celebrate the day, including Pemberton favourites such as the Polar Bear Swim and the street hockey tournament.

Amid the ensuing celebrations, which were bathed in sunshine and blue skies, Wiltse posed for photos with community members, singed torch in hand. One of 106 people to carry the flame in the 367-kilometre journey for Day 100, Wiltse fought to find words to describe his experience, and had to start with “ga’aaaaahw.”

“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” the beaming Wiltse said.

The Grade 11 Pemberton Secondary School student was amid the crowds in Whistler on the day the 2010 Games were awarded, but he never thought he would go on to carry the Olympic torch himself. Riding to the relay start in a bus early Saturday morning, Wiltse said the full impact of the experience hadn’t yet sunk in.

But when he stepped out to run his section of the relay between the community centre and Signal Hill Elementary School, Wiltse saw the people lined up everywhere and cheering madly.

“It was better than I thought it would be. I had high standards for it, and it surpassed those standards,” Wiltse said.

For several of the locals who rose early on Saturday to cheer the flame, the torch relay’s pass through Pemberton offered a chance to charge up their Olympic excitement.

“I’m really excited to see (the torch) in Pemberton, to see everyone come out at this time of day especially, and just to feel the energy and the happiness,” Sue Stearns said

Donna Hasan, one of many volunteers who pitched in for the celebrations, said she has noticed Olympic spirit already in Pemberton, and the torch helped kick things up a notch.

“It’s been a long time (in coming)… The excitement’s building. Lots of people work in Whistler, too, so there’s a lot of pride between the two communities. Everyone I talk to is excited about their events that they’re seeing, and the Victory Ceremonies,” Hasan said.