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Pixar animates WFF

Have you ever seen a Pixar movie at the theatre? Well, you know those animated shorts that run before the feature?

If not, well, they're amazing. They're fun and funny and more full of life than any of those Twilight flicks. And, for the first time in history, every one of these shorts will be screened together at the Whistler Film Festival.

Titled "Pixar at the Plaza," the program will run on Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3, under the newly completed, under-utilized pavilion roof at Whistler Olympic Plaza as part of the Whistler Presents series.

Pixar is celebrating its 25 th anniversary this year and heading into its second year running a studio out of Vancouver. The first short to be produced by the Vancouver team, Air Mater , will close the screenings.

The event is free and covered seating will be available for the first 1,000 people on a first-come, first-served basis.

WFF to honour Patton Oswalt

That funny dweeb from King of Queens is coming to Whistler.

No, this is actually a big deal for comedy fans. Patton Oswalt, the dweeb in question, is considered one of the greatest living stand-up comics and he's going to be here, uh, receiving an award.

The Whistler Film Festival will launch its 11 th annual edition of the Spotlight Award for Supporting Performance of the Year by honouring Patton for his role in Jason Reitman's Young Adult , in which he stars opposite Charlize Theron. The award will follow an advance screening of the film.

Young Adult follows a teen literature writer who travels to her hometown in an attempt to woo her happily married high school sweetheart. It's a savage, gruesome horror flick with an insane twist ending!

Just kidding. It's a comedy, and if Reitman's past films ( Up In the Air; Juno ) are any indication, it'll be heart-warming and funny, if a little subversive.

Oswalt, for his part, has appeared in over 20 films and starred in four TV specials. He's a genius to some and Whistler should be honoured to have him.

Why? Because he makes hilarious fun of KFC, that's why.

Prepare for the Loverboy-Trooper double header

I miss the early 80s. Man, were they a blur. I'm sure a lot of people feel that way and no, I was not living off a cocaine breakfast, thank you for asking. I was growing up and as such I missed living through crucial 80s rock hits including (but not limited to) "Working for the Weekend" and "Raise a Little Hell."

Fortunately, the Canadian rock stallions that wrote those songs, Loverboy and Trooper, are playing a double-header at Whistler Olympic Plaza as part of the Whistler Presents concert series next Saturday, Nov. 26. Prepare for shredding guitars, thundering arena drums and, quite possibly, some botox faces. Rock! And! Roll!

But you must get prepared quickly, as this is a ticketed event, with the 1,000 tickets being sold for $10 each. That's a sweet plum made double -sweet when all the proceeds are going to the Whistler Food Bank.

Bizarre Bazaar needs volunteers

Bizarre Bazaar, the Sea to Sky's artisan market needs your help.

Yes, it's time that you hand over your volunteer hours to the Whistler Arts Council to help run this thing. The Bizarre Bazaar holiday craft fair will feature a wide array of ceramics, clothing, fine art, wood, glass, metal, jewelry, leather, candles and aromatherapy products as well as Christmas decorations.

Attracting over 5,000 visitors in previous years, Bizarre Bazaar is a vibrant community event that includes live music, a silent auction, dance and food. It will be held on Friday, Nov. 25 from 3 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 26 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information on Bizarre Bazaar or to inquire about volunteering, visit www.artswhistler.com.

For the record

In last week's lead arts story " What to do with all this RMI money?" I wrote that the Whistler Presents program cost $2.9 million. In fact, the entire Festival, Events & Animation program run by the RMOW costs $2.9 million. This figure includes Whistler Presents, along with street animation throughout the village, operating costs, and so on.

I also offered a suggestion to use the RMI funds to market aggressively in developing markets but apparently the funds cannot be used for marketing as stipulated by the province. Go figure!

We regret the error, of course.