Thousands of people turned out November 20 as the famous flame rolled into Lunenburg County, on day 22 of its 106-day, cross-Canada journey.

 The torch had left Halifax in the early morning hours and headed for the Annapolis Valley, then turned south towards New Germany and onto Bridgewater before finally ending the day with an action-packed, two-hour gala in front of a huge crowd on the Lunenburg waterfront.

 The high-energy show featured musical entertainment by Lunenburg rock group Air Traffic Control, a mass youth choir from the local area, painter Fritz Branschat who performed on behalf of corporate sponsor RBC, a Cirque du Soleil-style stage show presented by Coca-Cola and an Acadian choir.

 A performance by local singing group Collage, which was slated to wrap up the stage portion of the festivities, was cut short when the heavens opened and heavy rain began falling just after the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

 Also on hand for the festivities were South Shore-St. Margarets MP Gerald Keddy, Lunenburg MLA Pam Birdsall, Lunenburg Mayor Laurence Mawhinney, torch relay committee director Jim Richards and local Olympic hopeful, Alex Duckworth.

 Despite the downpour, organizers were still able to present a 12-minute fireworks finale, although most of the masses who had crowded into the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic parking lot and at cordoned-off Bluenose Drive had already left for drier territory by the time that spectacle began.

 Halfway through the proceedings, with the thousands of spectators who were on hand already pumped into a frenzy, the Olympic flame arrived dockside, courtesy of the Adams and Knickle Ltd. scallop dragger, Chockle Cap.

 From there, noted local, international athlete Sherry Ritcey carried the torch up Bluenose Drive to the stage where she lit the Olympic cauldron as the crowd roared its approval.

 Ms Ritcey told the gathering that when she first departed the boat she was struck by the number of people who were lining the street waiting for the flame to arrive "And how I have to walk through that.

 "It's such an awesome feeling, you have no idea," she said. "It ranks right up there with representing your country at a world event and winning a national championship. It is definitely right there with it."

 The following day the torch relay left Lunenburg heading for Prince Edward Island and the next leg of its journey, which will see it travel through over 1,000 Canadian communities on its way to Vancouver and the opening of the 2010 Games, February 12.