Whistler WSSF

Whistler Festival Guide – Music, Writing and the Great Outdoors

Whistler Festival Guide – Music, Writing and the Great Outdoors article first appeared on the Coda Travel website.

Whistler is often voted the best ski resort in North America and it’s one of our customers’ favourites. We love the huge amount of terrain (both in area and a whole mile of vertical) that’s accessible to all levels of skiers or snowboarders, from widely spaced tree runs down from 7th Heaven to the huge number of open bowls on Whistler to the 7km thigh-burning Peak to Creek run. Plus there are now incredible views of the deep Fitzsimmons Creek, that divides Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, through the glass floors of the Peak 2 Peak gondola.

There’s another great reason to choose Whistler for your ski holiday and that’s the huge variety of world-class festivals and events that happen year round. In this post we pick out the best of the bunch that will liven up your North American ski holiday.

The World Ski & Snowboard Festival is a ten day annual celebration of snowsports, music, the arts and general mountain living. In 2014 it runs from April 11th through to 20th. On the music front there’s an afternoon outdoor concert series with the main stage located in Skier’s Plaza, free nightly concerts at the village clubs and bars and also a silent disco. For the arts there’s Fashion Exposed and the Freeze Dance Showcase which celebrates form and function on the catwalk.

A major draw for locals and tourists is the Filmmaker Showdown where filmmakers are tasked to shoot, edit and produce a short film within 100km of Whistler over the course of 3 days, alongside a Pro Photographer Showdown where action photographers are invited to showcase their work. On the snowsports side there’s the invitational olympic sized Superpipe event just up from the base of Blackcomb as well as a demo park to try the latest gear for free. And finally there’s the Whistler Dogfest where ‘local mutts strut their stuff’! Take a look at the 2014 schedule for more information.

The Whistler Writers Festival launches a readings and music series kicking off on March 15th with a Writers’ Open Mic Night competition at The Point, an artist run centre. The theme for the night will be how people experience luck through poems, songs and dance.

New for this year on the Victoria Day Long Weekend of May 16-19, 2014 is a family-friendly Whistler’s Great Outdoors Festival where ‘The Great Snow-Earth-Water’ race formed in 1984 and not held for more than 20 years will make a comeback. You can see highlights from the May 1988 race on the Whistler Museum channel on YouTube and it’s certainly worth a watch!

Then for the start of next season the Whistler Film Festival is scheduled for December 3rd through to the 7th 2014 which celebrates fresh and innovative films from Canada and around the world with awards and prizes, along with the annual Celebrity Challenge ski race. Whistler averages over 400 inches of snow a year (more than most Colorado resorts) which ensures a long season from November through to May and beyond with Glacier skiing on Blackcomb. As such conditions in December are often as good as late season in the Alps.

Celebration has always been at the heart of Whistler culture, as demonstrated in the successful hosting of the 2010 Winter Games, and is just another reason to look at booking a holiday in Whistler. Every skier has to cross Whistler off their bucket list, is this your year?