Whistler Winter Arts Festival

When: February through April
Where: All over the place

Celebrating Whistler’s rich arts, culture and heritage scene, the Whistler Winter Arts Festival has something for everyone as we gear up to host the world’s biggest sporting event: the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Showcasing music, theatre,  snow sculpting, film, art, photography, literature and dance, this year’s Festival features performances by some of Canada’s top artists and performers.

Produced in partnership between the Whistler Arts Council and the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, the Festival is presented by the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Heritage Canada.
FoMo Info: www.whistlerartscouncil.com ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (604)935-8232

Whistler Winter Arts Festival Events

National Snow Sculpture Competition

Where: Whistler Olympic Park
When: January 15-17 and January 20-22

Artists work best when they work with materials at hand.  That makes snow sculpting and Whistler a marriage made in heaven.  Come on out and watch teams of snow sculptors from around Canada compete in this most ephemeral media.

January 15-17, the Yukon Canada International Snow Sculpture Touring Team will be carving snow during the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup and the FIS Cross-Country World Cup. The team’s been beating the icicles off teams from around the snowy world in international competitions.  See what they can do with stuff you just slip on at www.snowcarver.ca.

January 20-22, the Ephemeral Arts Snow Sculpting Team will steal the show from the high flyers at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. With almost 20 years of experience, these snow magicians from the Kootenay region of B.C., have made Canada proud at competitions worldwide.  At the 2006 Torino Olympics, they garnered the jury prize and the People’s Choice awards.  See what they did… before it melted, at www.snowsculpture.com .

 

The People’s Festival

Where: Whistler Olympic Park
When: January 16-18, 24-25

There’s so much going on at the Olympic Park you might not even notice the competition.  The Activity Zone will tap off all that energy young and old kids build up watching the Nordic events.  A unique climbing wall will let you challenge gravity and touch the sky.  And the Spectator Tent will fill your tummy, warm your heart and keep you entertained with local musicians, live entertainment, good food and it’s own brand of excitement.

 

Celebrate Live

Where: Village Square
When: February 12-15, 4-7pm

Come on out for this sonic celebration in the heart of Whistler Village.  Groove to the sounds and energy of some of Canada’s most distinctive bands and get into the whole, one-year-to-the-Olympics spirit.

Who/When:
•    Feb 12: Wil Mimnaugh & The Paperboys will kickoff the one-year countdown to… you know what.
•    Feb 13: Joel Plaskett & Wide Mouth Mason
•    Feb 14: Grand Analog & Buck 65
•    Feb 15: Bitterly Divine & George Leach

 

Inspired by Place

Where: Mountain Square
When: February 17-27

Take four unique artists, challenge them to capture the natural and cultural landscapes of the Coast Mountain range and the heartbeat of Whistler, then sit back and watch it all come together over 10 days in February.  Artistic director and aerial choreographer Julia Taffe joins with contemporary aboriginal choreographer Michelle Olson, visual artist and projection designer Tim Matheson, and musician/composer Francois Houle join talents to capture this unique part of the planet in Inspired by Place.  Watch their open rehearsals and workshop performances and see their concepts take place before your very, very joyful eyes.

 

Between the Sheets — Literary Leanings, 2009

Where: Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
When: February 18, 7:30pm (Admission - $20)

CBC Radio's Shelagh Rogers gets up-close and personal with 2008 Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden (Through Black Spruce, Three Day Road) at the7th annual Literary Leanings. What will Boyden’s wife, novelist and former trapeze artist Amanda Boyden, (Babylon Rolling) have to say about that?  How will Steven Galloway (The Cellist of Sarajevo) round out the threesome?  Be part of an intimate conversation about what goes on between the sheets when three of North America's leading novelists gather on one stage. Doors open at 7:30; show starts at 8:00; book signing at 9:30
Tickets:  www.theviciouscircle.ca
FoMo Info: www.whistlerartscouncil.com; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (604)935-8232

 

Community Now: Year Five Premiere

Where: Maurice Young Millennium Place
When: February 19, 7:30pm

Begun in 2005, the Whistler Museum & Archives Society’s Community Now film project strives to capture the history and experience of the people who have and who still call this special place home.  Video shorts distil Whistler residents’ remembrances of the town’s history, day-to-day life and the meaning of finally capturing the dream that started it all — hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This year’s film, Whistler’s Coming of Age Story, traces the arc of Whistler’s journey from First Nations’ lands to the fishing resort of Alta Lake to the nascent days of Whistler Resort to what you see around you today and what the world will see next February and March.  Later this year, the short films of the past years will be edited into a full-length film… the Whistler story, to help preserve the legacy and history of one of the world’s unique places.
FoMo Info: www.whistlermuseum.org ;  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (604)932-2019

 

Whistler Festival Snow Screen

Where: Skiers Plaza
When: February 21-22, 5-6pm, Free to See

Let’s go to the movies . . . outside! The Whistler Film Festival presents a series of Olympic-inspired short films projected on a giant screen made of snow at the base of Whistler Mountain as part of the Whistler Winter Arts Festival. The program includes 15 specially commissioned “Whistler Stories” by BC filmmakers. Complimentary hot chocolate will be served. Dress for the weather. Get details.
FoMo Info: www.whistlerfilmfestival.com

 

Daniel Bolshoy

Where: Whistler Library   
When: February 25, 8:00pm

Daniel Boyshoy is a one-man force who’s passion in life is to make classical guitar music come alive for a whole new audience.  An inspired player and progressive programmer of solo and chamber music, Daniel engages his audiences with skilled playing and fascinating introductions that combine to make the music relevant and important to listeners.  A highlight on international music festivals, Daniel will delight those familiar with classical guitar and make instant converts of those who discover the genre through his spirited performance.
FoMo Info: www.whistlerartscouncil.com; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Snow Sculpting Exhibition

Where: Whistler Mountain
When: February 24-26

Snow, neige, as interpreted by teams of snow sculptors from La Belle Quebec and Friendly Manitoba.  Not a competition but a spirited, okay, maybe a little competitive, exhibition of the snow carver’s art.  Team Quebec’s trio has been turning heads with their creations since 2001.  Director Claudio Côté’s collective has garnered awards at international competitions and are featured artists at famed Carnival, Quebec’s annual homage to the best of the four seasons.  Team Manitoba, with characteristic prairie reserve, lets their crystalline work speak for them.

 

Ted Outerbridge, Magician

Where: Maurice Young Millennium Place
When: February 28, 8:00pm

Now you see it; now… hey, where’d it go?  Ted Outerbridge has been confounding audiences in more Canadian cities than you can name with his magic since 1983.  He’s a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and in places with no shoreline at all.  You might have seen him on television, at Montreal’s Just For Laughs comedy festival or somewhere else where you thought your eyes were playing tricks on you.  Now you can catch his unbelievable act in Whistler.  No, he won’t make Whistler Mountain disappear, but he’ll leave you believing he could if he wanted to.

 

Le Vent du Nord

Where: Maurice Young Millennium Place
When: March 12, 8:00pm

Juno award winners, Le Vent du Nord are just plain folk… as in folk singers.  Garnering a Juno for their first recording, Maudite Moisson, in 2004, they followed that by winning album of the year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for Les Amants du Saint-Laurent.  They’ll bring their rich vocal talents to Whistler for an evening of great folk and traditional music.
FoMo Info: www.whistlerartscouncil.com; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (604)935-8232

 

Celebration 2010™ — Artists with Disabilities

Where: TBA
When: March TBA

The Whistler Winter Arts Festival has, in the past, been focused on the dates of the Olympic Games (February), celebrating the cultural pillar of the Olympic movement and showcasing the region’s arts, culture and heritage sector. In 2008, Celebration 2010™ will expand to incorporate the dates of the Paralympic Games in March to ensure that, as the host of the Paralympics, Whistler creates cultural programming for the Paralympics. The program will showcase artists with disabilities, and much like the Paralympics, focus on achievements and successes of Canadians with physical challenges. The funds for this project will go towards artist fees, production costs and execution.

 

Whistler Cup Festival

Where: Whistler Mountain, TBA
When: April 10-12

The Whistler Cup has always been a chance for the hottest young athletes, aged 11-14,  from many countries and cultures to compete against the future stars of alpine skiing.  But this year, the Whistler Cup Festival brings a whole new cultural component to the scene.  Look out skiers, the artists are coming.  Showcasing some of Canada’s brightest performers and celebrating our very own arts, culture and heritage, the Whistler Cup Festival will answer the cosmic question: What do we do while we wait around for the races?  Fair warning:  You just might forget there’s racing going on.