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Everything arts readies for 2010

The Two-Year Countdown to 2010 begin with free outdoor concert

Everything arts explodes during the month of February to celebrate the 2008 Cultural Olympiad with Whistler’s Celebration 2010 showcase.

Free live music in Whistler’s great outdoors heralds in the resort’s biggest arts party with Celebrate Live in Whistler on Tuesday, Feb. 12 from 3 to 6 p.m. in Village Square.

EMI recording artist Wil Mimnaugh and Swarm will entertain the masses for the two-year countdown party with a cake cutting just after 6 p.m. and the opportunity to join the volunteer sign up list for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 2010 mascots will also be there.

Celebrate Live in Whistler will continue on with its parade of live music every afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. in Village Square until Feb. 17.

Whistler Story short films commissioned by the Whistler Film Festival Society will also screen intermittently throughout the concert series with all ten films collectively shown on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 3:40 p.m. in Village Square.

There is no shortage of outdoor events slated for this “everything arts celebration” presented by the Whistler Arts Council and the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

The Only Animal theatre company will produce Canada’s first snow and ice theatre of its kind in an intensive theatrical experimentation called Nix on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. in Lost Lake Park.

The multi-disciplinary collaboration pushes the boundaries of theatre, glass blowing, music composition and technology.

Audiences are welcome to don a pair of snowshoes or cross-country skis to check out open rehearsals Feb. 20 to 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Lost Lake. Admission is free. Shuttle reservations are required for the Feb. 23 performance. Call 604-935-8410.

Audiences will also need to bundle up for the Snow Sculpting display on Whistler Mountain near the Roundhouse hosted daily from Feb. 27 to 29. The Canadian Snow Sculpture team, with special guests The Snow Drifters from Alberta, will create frozen works of art inspiring Olympic spirit. Admission is free.

Celebration 2010 wants to introduce Canada’s community of culture to everyone with countless free events.

Get a look into the unique world of Whistler kids with the film Community Now: Made in Whistler screening on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at MY Millennium Place. The free event includes a screening of the 30-minute documentary following everyone from an 18-year-old EMI recording artist to a nine-year-old painter who sells her works for $500. Students from Spring Creek Elementary School will scribble out the other behind-the-scenes views on Whistler as well as showcase artwork at a student art exhibit beginning at 7 p.m. Following the film, the community can enjoy nibblies as well as live music from film participant Ali Milner.

The only cost to join the Great Whistler Parade on Feb. 17 at 5:40 p.m. in Whistler Village is a little creativity. Free parade workshops are getting kids and adults painting, building and sewing from Feb. 8 to Feb. 11, including a drumming workshop with Pepe Danza Feb. 7 to 8 at the Delta Village Suites. To sign up, contact info@whistlerartscouncil.com .

The whole community is coming out to shine the spotlight on local and international talent.

Learn about neighbouring First Nations communities by taking a tour of the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre every Tuesday and Thursday at noon and 1 p.m. at the corner of Lorimer Road and Blackcomb Way. To book a tour space, contact Deanna at 604-898-1822 or sales@slcc.ca .

Enrich your theatre-going experience with the Pacific West Coast Symphony on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. and The Glass Menagerie on Monday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. at MY Millennium Place.

The West Coast Symphony will share a wide range of orchestral works, including Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien and Shostakovitch’s Symphony in No. 1 in f minor.

The Arts Club presents this Tennessee William’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece sharing the intimate and moving portraying of the Wingfield family.

For MY Place tickets, visit ticketmaster.ca or call 604-935-8410.

Print gets off the page with the Whistler Writers Group’s 6 th annual Literary Leanings storytelling event on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. at The Path Gallery.

More uplifting than opera, this literary group therapy showcases storytellers Oni the Haitian Sensation “the Godmother of Canadian Slam”, cowboygirl Ivan E. Coyote, Metis-Jewish poet Gregory Scofield and local scribblers. Advance $10 tickets are available at the Path Gallery.

For more Celebration 2010 events, visit whistlerartscouncil.com.