1 It's a birthday party. No, it's a wake. One year after the 1994 Winter Olympics opened in Lillehammer, Norwegians are celebrating and mourning at the same time.
2 'They were 16 glorious days. But it's over,' says Kjetil Liljebach, a 15-year-old native, keeping a stiff upper lip about the passing of the Games.
3 The picture-book town of 24,000 people is turning out this Sunday to recapture the spirit that made its beloved Feb. 12-27 Games virtually perfect.
4 Lillehammer billed Sunday as 'The Olympics First Birthday' party, with concerts and a mini-Olympics for children.
5 But the tombstone on posters for a local theater performance says: 'Here lies the '94 Olympics. Rest in Peace. For Now.'
6 'For now' is a key phrase. Lillehammer was so proud of its Olympics -- nearly 90 percent approved in post-Games surveys, compared to 60 percent before the Games -- that some want to do it again.
7 'It would be impossible to do it as well again. It's better to live on the memories,' says 15-year-old Morten Alver.
8 Lillehammer Mayor Audun Tron isn't as certain, saying the re-use of Olympic venues would reduce costs and prevent environmental damage elsewhere.
9 'It would be reasonable for the International Olympic Committee not to build a new Olympic winter place every four years,' he says.
10 Lillehammer has cause to celebrate the Games, which gave it stunning new facilities, improved roads and a rush of tourists.
11 It also has worries: Olympic deficits, fewer new jobs than expected, the end of a boom and unemployment that has increased nearly one percentage point to 6.5 percent.
12 'We, as a city, have gotten a lot out of the Olympics, with upgrading in most areas, with new buildings, roads and the personal efforts of residents to fix up their property,' Tron says. It's too early to estimate the long-term impact.
13 In the city, for example, about 10 new restaurants have gone under since the Games, but about 20 others are still working.
14 Lillehammer, 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Oslo, is still the same sleepy, charming small town on the shores of Mjosa, Norway's largest lake, that has drawn tourists and artists for generations.
15 The biggest change may have been in residents themselves, who were considered standoffish, even dour, before the Games.
16 'I hear from foreigners that Lillehammer residents are so helpful and friendly and easy to get to know,' says Tron, smiling. 'If you had described Lillehammer people in that way five or six years ago a lot of people wouldn't have believed it.'
17 There are more strangers to be nice to. The number of tourists doubled since 1991, and unexplectedly the population has increased by 330 people 24,200 in the past year, says Tron.
18 On a crisp, sunny day -- 'Perfect Olympic weather' locals quickly point out -- residents whiz by on their stand-up kicksleds as usual, passing tourists with shouldered skis along the long, snow-covered pedestrian street, Storgata.
19 The stuffed reindeer and wooden trolls still keep an eye on passersby. An art class hurries to finish a giant snow sculpture of a skier, in the shadow of main street's carefully preserved 19th century buildings.
20 But some locals complain there aren't enough Olympic reminders left, since the banners, flags, and flames, like the huge, flag-waving crowds, are gone.
21 What remains can seem forlorn: the vacant official souvenir store with a 'For Rent' sign in the window; or the 80 million kroner (dlrs 11.5 million) main press center, empty and used to store Olympic files; or the lonely staff of the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee, down to 10 people -- mostly part-time -- from 800 a year ago.
22 Lillehammer and the other host towns have to cope with such economic stagnation after a boom.
23 Researchers say the annual 10-million-kroner (dlrs 1.5-million) deficit at Olympic venues, although expected, can still eat up Lillehammer's share of a 365-million-kroner (dlrs 52-million) fund left by organizers.
24 Norway, a country of 4.3 million that is western Europe's largest oil exporter, paid much of the 7-billion-kroner (dlrs 1-billion) cost of the Games to help the economically depressed region.
25 The Olympics created about 400 new jobs in the region, a third of the 1,200 that were projected, according to a recent Norwegian research report.
26 'We could have gained more,' says Ola Matti Mathisen, a local journalist who has specialized in the Lillehammer Games since idea was first raised in 1981. He said there was too much duplication and competition among about 15 post-Olympic organizations.
27 Still, Lillehammer's promoters have drawn 15 international sports events this year. They are discussing such events a possible winter version of the Goodwill Games. They plan cultural events and turn Olympic expertise into businesses.
28 Tron says he hopes Lillehammer passes on at least one thing to future Olympic cities: the sportsmanship of friendly, flag-waving Norwegian hordes who cheered Olympic athletes from all nations.
29 In fact, UNESCO last month gave those crowds a 'Fair Play' award for sportsmanship.
30 'It makes us proud,' says Dag-Oyvind Paulsen, 16. And, since he was in the crowd last year, 'the prize is partly mine.'

" They were 16 glorious days . But it ' s over , " says Kjetil Liljebach , a 15 - year - old native , keeping a stiff upper lip about the passing of the Games .
stiff upper lip
What does it mean to keep a stiff upper lip?