The man behind the Games - the President and CEO of VANOC, John Furlong - is rolling into Whistler this weekend to help the community mark the one-year anniversary of the Olympic Games.
He's taking part in two events on Sunday, Feb. 13: the first, a book launch, takes place at 3:30 p.m. at the Whistler Public Library, where Furlong will read from and discuss his new book, Patriot Hearts, take questions from the audience and sign copies, afterwards. Everyone is invited to come out and participate in this public event, which will also be attended by Mayor Ken Melamed and others who worked on the Olympic Games.
Afterwards, he's the keynote speaker at the Living Leadership celebration at the Delta Village Suites, starting at 5:30 p.m. The event, which is being organized by the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WASP) and Leadership Sea to Sky (LSS), will see Furlong sharing his "Leadership Lessons From the Games." There are only 75 seats available for this plated dinner eventand the cost to attend is $100 per person, with all proceeds going to WASP and LSS. For more information on this event or to purchase tickets, visit www.whistlerforum.com or www.whistleradaptive.com.
Speak on, Museum!
Jon Hetherington shared his tale of travels in Tibet and Nepal to a packed house during the first installment of the Whistler Museum's 2011 Speaker Series back in January, and now, Murray Coates is stepping up to the plate.
On Wednesday, Feb. 16 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Coates will relive his pro-patrol experiences from Whistler's early days: think mountains, romance, skiing and explosives. Coates spent his first season working as a ski instructor, but soon found himself immersed in the world of mountaineering and explosives, switching over into a pro patroller. At the time he switched sides, he was one of just four patrollers working on the entire mountain (joined occasionally by one very surprising part-time volunteer!)
The cost to attend this trip down memory lane is just $7 (or $5 for members), with all proceeds going towards the museum's programs. The first Speaker Series event was sold-out, so get your tickets quick! For more information, visit www.whistlermuseum.org.
"Adventures in Solitude" with Grant Lawrence
Grant Lawrence, host of the popular CBC Radio 3 Podcast with Grant Lawrence and Grant Lawrence Live on CBC Radio 3 and Sirius 86, is making his way to Whistler next week to promote his new book, Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound ($26.95, Harbour Publishing).
As a child growing up in the '70s, Lawrence's father bought a piece of land next to West Coast B.C.'s Desolation Sound marine park, just in time to encounter the gun-toting cougar lady, left-over hippies, outlaw bikers and a wide range of other characters. Those early experiences, many of which took place alongside an influential hermit named Russell, led Lawrence to a life of music and journalism, and far away from Desolation Sound. Adventures in Solitude sees the popular radio personality return to regale us with tales of "going bush," a tempting dilemma of finding an unguarded grow-op, and other laugh-out-loud stories from this unique corner of B.C.
Lawrence will be at the Whistler Public Library on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. for a slideshow presentation, reading and book signing, joined by musical guest, Jill Barber. For more information on the event, please call the Whistler Public Library at 604- 935-8433 or Armchair Books at 604-932-5557.
