The Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay blew through Clinton to the Bonaparte Reserve, then on to Cache Creek on March 28. The next day it continued from Cache Creek Elementary School on down the highway to Savona and then stopped in Kamloops for the night.
Similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, those chosen to participate from the applications they submitted, wore a large silver commemorative medal for part of the route, passing it on to the next participant - called “difference makers” by the organizers. The Relay retraces Hansen’s original Man in Motion Tour 25 years ago.
Many who participated in the Cache Creek and Bonaparte leg of the Relay reminisced about seeing the original Tour and how it had affected them. They noted how wheelchair access has become expected in the past 25 years.
The Relay began Aug. 24 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and wraps up May 22 in Vancouver.