They're out there on the empty ice. I can see Gord and JC hunching over under the white lights. All the skaters have gone home. It's 11:30 PM. The rink painting goes in tonight. Flurries, big flakes outside my window.



Today, things turned up notch. When I got back from Niagara on the Lake, a reporter and a photographer from The Toronto Star surrounded a sea of orange and yellow shards, snapping photos at the frenetic activity in the tent.

The entire crew was engaged: Pascale climbing her ladder, Al on photo detail, Eliya chopping up ice outside the tent; JC ordering his henchmen around - Erik on the skill saw, Jaz, Tim, Marielle, even Andrea carrying ice. When I came in with our five docents, the guys had to show off. That's Tim and Jaz.



And here they are left to right: Amy, Jenny, Julie, Kera and Erin. They are art students and graduates and will be showing and telling the public all about the exhibit come Friday. Tim, Jaz and Erik are hoping they'll be back to help out on Thursday. "It's like these guys have never seen a girl!" Marielle laughed.


Eliya introduced Gord to the Mayor yesterday, who loved the exhibit! and today, we got our WinterCity badges. All the tents are up on the outskirts of the square; the stages are being built. Gord had an interview which lasted an hour and a half with a reporter from the Globe and Mail. CTV News Toronto will be on the rink live tomorrow for the noon news. At 4 PM, Global TV. Photo Op - Thursday at 6-7pm. City TV, CBC (French), Sun TV are confirmed. Plus still photographers.

This is all a bit much for 'the artist'. Now he's in the tub, his face scarlet. He stumbled in the room, exhausted. The crew told him to go home. "One of the best things about this", he said, "is how these kids are taking care of me. There's a real sense of loyalty, like family." I can see that the zamboni has dug up the first patch for the ice shards.