By Roman Zakaluzny
And you thought kids are apathetic. More than 700,000 of them from Canada and around the world are expected in town next July for the "Catholic Woodstock" -- World Youth Day 2002.
"For sure I'm going, I wouldn't miss it for the world," said 18-year-old Leanne Veale from her home in Winnipeg.
Veale is helping organize details from the Manitoba end. Delegates from that province will be arriving by bus on or around July 23.
For auxiliary Bishop John Boissonneau, things are moving along swimmingly on the local end. However, the chairman of the Toronto organizing committee is still searching for volunteers of any kind.
'Planning, strategy
"We need people for planning, strategy, data input ... everything. Professional people, too. Not everyone is needed to direct traffic at Union Station."
In his position as chairman of the Toronto committee, Boissonneau is responsible for making sure that volunteers, billets and entertainment are in place in time for World Youth Day (WYD), which is actually a ten-day gathering from July 18-23.
"There's a meeting from Jan. 9-13 in Toronto, at which the official song ... will be launched," said Boissonneau. "Every conference has an official hymn."
Began in 1984
Pope John Paul established WYD in 1984. Known colloquially as "Popestock" or "Catholic Woodstock," the event draws hundreds of thousands of Catholic 16- to 35-year-old "pilgrims" from around the world. The pontiff himself will be present at Downsview Park for the conference's concluding mass.
It is expected to inject about $170 million into the economy, and create more than 3,000 jobs for one year, according to a report by the city's economic development committee.