We're inching ever closer to what may very well be the last TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival ever. Nobody seems to be lamenting the loss of our greatest homegrown festival so we won't either. We'll fill you in on some Pro Photographer Showdown news instead.
The finalists have been announced for the much lauded, chronically sold-out photo competition. The finalists include Adam Moran, based in Southern California as a team photographer for Burton Snowboards. He has spent years working with riders such as Shaun White and Terje Haakonsen.
Brian Nevins is the co-founder of getinthevan.com, a Surfer Magazine freelancer who has taken some seriously impressive photographs of Skrillex working with the surviving members of The Doors.
New Zealand-based Camilla Stoddart is a lover of all things outdoorsy, shunner of the city life and the only female in the competition.
Scott Serfas is a prolific photographer who worked as the principal photographer on The Art of Flight, his work has graced more than 20 Transworld SNOWboarding magazine covers and recently won the Commercial Photo of the Year from the American Photo Magazine and the Photo District News's Great Outdoors Photo Contest. Squamish-based Jeff Patterson is a20-year industry veteran and a staff photographer for Snowboard Canada Magazine.
This year's submissions included a mixed bag of snowboarding, skiing, surfing, mountain biking and other awesome outdoor activities that I'm fantasizing about right now. Each of the five finalists will present a nine-minute slideshow of their best work at the Whistler Conference Centre for a shot at winning the $10,000 grand prize.
It sounds awesome, right? Well too bad for you if you don't already have a ticket. It's sold out. Has been for weeks. Ha, ha.
WAC expands Workshops on the Lake
It's only natural for painters to paint on a lake. Every painter, professional or amateur, has at some point in their life taken brush to easel with a large inland body of water in the background. If they haven't, well, they haven't tried hard enough to, like, be a painter. You know?
So, as it is, the Whistler Arts Council is expanding its Art Workshops on the Lake this year, featuring one- to four-day workshops in various Whistler locations. The workshops will run from May through to the end of August and will feature 17 instructors offering their expertise in an intimate setting. Registration opens today (March 16). For more information, and to register, visit www.artswhistler.com/
Real Housewives of Whistler?
No, not that we know of. But we do know the Botox circus clowns from the upcoming Real Housewives of Vancouver shot for two days in Whistler in 2011. This means our heroines will be displayed dining in our most fabulous restaurants, engaging in passive aggressive exchanges in our most exquisite hotel rooms, spending their "hard-earned" dollars at our finest clothing stores.
We've contacted Slice, the network that will be airing the program, about when the episode will air or what the nature of the episode will be but they have not gotten back to us.
We'd like to know more about our plasticized beauty queens, so if anyone has any information about these women, about the filming, or any related stories or anecdotes that they'd like to share, please write us at arts@piquenewsmagazine.com.
The '80s are totally underrated
Moe Joe's has launched a new night entitled "Everything But the '80s Mondays," where DJ P Haze will play music from all eras except the '80s. This appears to be a response to Tommy Africa's "Legendary 80s Night."
Now, we don't favour any particular club, and we respect the rights of all clubs to play whatever they want but as dedicated music fans, we must take a stand here. What's wrong with the '80s, yo? What about Madonna? That's fun music. Devo? Run DMC? Journey? Men Without Hats?
All we're saying is the '80s were a golden era for danceable, mega-fun pop music that will be sorely missed at any nightclub on any night — especially a Monday, when "Blue Monday" seems most appropriate.
If you were going to skip a decade, it would be the '30s. Like swing music? Pfffff, who needs it?
