Bring a blanket and dress warm: the 2007 Canada Winter Games are about to begin.

The actual athletic events will get underway Friday morning with two ringette games.

However, the official kick-off for the national sporting event will begin with a pre-show at 3:30 p.m. followed by the 4 p.m. opening ceremonies in the huge ATCO Place tent on Second Avenue.

Inside the tent this week, crews have been busy setting up benches for more than 1,800 athletes and seating for another 3,200 spectators, dignitaries, officials and families of the athletes.

There's also a stage, cameras, lighting, plasma TVs, sound equipment, flags and a slew of other colourful ornaments and finishings throughout the tent.

And don't forget the heating. Inside, heaters continue to blow hot air into the structure on this Wednesday afternoon.

However, as pointed out by Doug Hnatiuk, the Games' fit-out co-ordinator who's responsible for the layout and look of the facilities, the fans for the heater are a little noisy. Consequently, they'll be turned off during the opening ceremonies tomorrow.

With the 5,000 people who will be on-hand for the ceremonies, there will also be enough heat throughout the tent without the heaters on, says Games' spokeswoman Sunny Patch.

Still, Hnatiuk emphasizes, he 'strongly encourages' any spectators to dress appropriately for the opening ceremonies and bring a blanket or small cushion to sit on the aluminum bleachers.

'The crews have been just phenomenal,' Hnatiuk says as activity bustled around the tent.

Outside the structure, a final transit sign is being put in place on the road across from ATCO Place Wednesday afternoon as flags from each province and territory blew in the wind across the top of the entrance leading to the tents.

Inside the door, Jonas Smith uses a roller to paint what appears to be a snowmachine, but, as he explains, it's really a golf cart decked out to look like a winter vehicle.

Others work on adjusting lights from a bucket truck which lifts them to nearly the top of the tent where the lights are in place.

Canadian Rangers in the ceremony and dancers from the Northern Lights School of Dance, who are filling in for athletes, rehearse the raising of the Canada Games flag.

On stage, Yellowknife singer Leela Gilday is also practising her part in the show, pausing every now and then to ask the sound crew to adjust the various levels.

Behind her, colours shift and change on the design showing up on the material behind Gilday.

Above the bleachers that line the 48-by-85-metre (160-by-285-foot) structure, each province and territory is again represented with the region's flags on display.

Throughout the tent, as well as outside, banners and displays with the Canada Games logo and the ATCO Place name are bright with orange or red in the background.

After the crews leave each night, security workers take over, staying there until more workers return to the job in the morning.

It's taken quite a few long volunteer hours, sometimes from 8 a.m. until midnight each night, to get it ready. But Hnatiuk remains confident everything will be set to go for the opening ceremonies' dress rehearsal this afternoon.

He, and other city employees, have bee fortunate to be granted the work time to devote to the Games, he says.

Even when the bid package to have the Games in Whitehorse was being produced, city staff were allotted time to work on that, he says.

As the Games get set to start, the city is on 'life support' with a major focus on the Games.

ATCO Place is among numerous venues that will host portions of the Games.

'And this is just one (venue),' Hnatiuk said, pointing to the work that's gone into getting sites like the Canada Games Centre, Mount Sima and other Games' locations spruced up for the big event.

In the midst of the bleachers, a CBC television camera has been put in place for the live telecast of the opening ceremonies.

While the ceremonies will start at 4 p.m., Patch is reminding spectators to be in their seats by 3:30 p.m. After that, no one can be seated because of the live telecast starting at 4 p.m. Doors for the opening ceremonies will open at 2 p.m.

With the focus for ATCO Place currently on the opening ceremonies, following the official kick-off their attention will then move to the cultural festival and the set-up for that as well as getting the space ready for the Dene Games happening at the site.

Finally, after all of that, the tent will again be converted to host the final portion of the two-week spectacle the closing ceremonies on March 10.