Pachi the Porcupine

Pachi greets US Ambassador Bruce Heyman at the 2015 Pan American Games

Pachi is the name of the mascot of the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2015 Parapan American Games.[1][2][3][4][5] The Games were held in Toronto, Canada, in 2015. The winning mascot was designed by Michelle Ing, Paige Kunihiro, Jenny Lee and Fiona Hong from Buttonville Public School in Markham, Ontario.[6]

Background

Pachi was unveiled on July 13, 2013.[7][8][9] Canadian schoolchildren played a role in narrowing the choice of mascot whose design is based on that of the porcupine, an animal found in all 41 countries competing at the Games. There are 41 stylized conical spines on Pachi's back: one for every country participating in the Pan American Games. The spines are one of five colours, each of the five representing a quality the Games are said to endorse: youth, passion, collaboration, determination, and creativity.

Porcupines have relatively poor vision, so the choice of basing Pachi's design on a porcupine is said to be a symbolic bond with the athletes of the Parapan Games.[1]

The Games licensed "Inner Ninja" as Pachi's theme song.[1]

Seventeen performers were hired to don a Pachi suit, and play Pachi.[1]

Selected Pachi's design and operating costs[1]
Cost Description
$93,232 Mascot Creation Challenge
$32,900 Promotional video about the Mascot Challenge
$5,000 Licensing Pachi's theme music
$3,006 Mascot selection photo shoot
$33,250 Mascot research
$472,184 Print advertisements
$134,550 Mascot payroll

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dakshana Bascaramurty (November 21, 2014). "Toronto Pan Am Games mascot has cost taxpayers $383,045 so far". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ Kamila Hinkson (December 28, 2012). "Pan Am organizers set to launch mascot contest". Toronto Star. Toronto, Canada. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ Jodee Brown (April 18, 2013). "Maple-headed beaver, punk porcupine among finalists for Toronto's Pan Am mascots". National Post. Toronto, Canada. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ Steve Kupferman (April 18, 2013). "These Are the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games' Mascot Finalists". Torontoist. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  5. ↑ Ian Austen (July 9, 2015). "In an Indifferent Toronto, the Pan-Am Games Land With a Thud". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Pan Am Games: Pachi the Porcupine introduced as mascot". Toronto Star. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  7. ↑ Jessica Vitullo (July 13, 2013). "Rainbow-quilled Pachi the Porcupine unveiled as 2015 Pan Am Games mascot". National Post. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Being awarded the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games was considered a big deal for Toronto but nothing heightens the spectacle of a major international sporting event like the unveiling of the obligatory mascot.
  8. ↑ "Meet Pachi the Porcupine, Toronto's Pan Am mascot". CBC Sports. Toronto, Canada. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ Mark Zwolinski (July 17, 2013). "Pan Am Games: Pachi the Porcupine introduced as mascot". Toronto Star. Toronto, Canada. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
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