Well this should be fun. Canadian rock dude Sam Roberts Band will headline the official opening of Whistler Olympic Plaza.
On Aug. 26, the RMOW will host the official opening and Mr. Roberts will perform on the finally completed outdoor pavilion. The temporary stage that is currently in use will be taken down.
Supporting Roberts will be Canadian alt-country singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. But this won't be just a music event. Oh no, the event organizers are planning a whole production to showcase the pavilion's bits and bites. There will be videos and "special guests" sharing "stories of Whistler Olympic Plaza." Phew, good thing this is free...
And who might be the MC of this special evening? None other than Jian Ghomeshi, host of CBC's Q and Canada's nerd-chick heartthrob. He'll guide the night along with his silky banter, winning the hearts of all the women while inspiring powerful envy in all the men. A curse on your house, Ghomeshi. I want to be you.
Anyway, the event pre-show will begin at 7 p.m., with the official celebration starting at 8 p.m.
Chad Oliver wins Whistler Anthem Project, plays cancer fundraiser
He's been gone for four years travelling with Cirque du Soleil and now that he's finally back, Chad Oliver has penned Whistler's official anthem.
His song "Top of the World" was picked by a panel of judges at Mountain FM's Whistler Anthem Project concert finals at Millennium Place last Wednesday, which Oliver tells Pique is the first time in his career that he's won a songwriting competition.
"I think whenever you're writing a song, ideally you think you have (a hit) but it's when you put it out there for people to take it in, that's when you figure that you have the hit or a miss," he says.
"Top of the World" deals with Oliver's first impressions of Whistler, comparing them to how town founders, Alex and Myrtle Philip, must have felt when they first arrived. The song, which features his Ruckus Deluxe band mate Ian Cameron on the fiddle, was written specially for the contest, organized by Mountain FM for the 100 Years of Dreams Celebrations.
Oliver competed against four other performers: Glenn Mishaw, Rachel Thom, Jeremy Thom and Adam Leggit. They performed for a live audience and a panel of judges that included Juno-winning Norm Foot, radio DJ Tarzan Dan, Sophie Tweed-Simmons (daughter of KISS member Gene Simmons) and Mayor Ken Melamed.
Oliver won $5,000 and "Top of the World" will also soundtrack the 100 Years of Dreams film to be featured on permanent display at the Whistler Museum.
With the money, Oliver plans to take the song to a publicist and see what can be done with it. He says he also plans to include it on the new Ruckus Deluxe album, due out this fall.
"The feedback I'm hearing from people, (the song) is kind of resonating with people," Oliver says.
Tonight, Oliver will be playing a fundraiser at the Dubh Linn Gate for children's cancer research, which Mountain FM will broadcast live. The bar will also be giving away prizes all afternoon, including two rounds of golf at the Whistler Golf Course, two bear tours from Ziptrek, four brewery tours for two at Whistler Brewery, along with prizes from Canadian snowmobile. Granville Island Brewing will also be raffling off a barbecue and offering beer samples all afternoon.
Two Acre Shaker finds a home
You can all breathe again, folks. The Two Acre Shaker, a.k.a. the Best Party of All Time of 2011, has found a new location at the Meadows Golf Course, five minutes east of Pemberton.
The festivities will take place on Aug. 13 on a tucked away portion of the property, amongst a grove of trees with Mount Currie as a backdrop. The organizers are asking that, in order to respect the owner's property, everyone is asked to stay within the designated party area. And please, please, avoid walking across greens and tea boxes at all times.
The back nine holes of the course will be closed to golfers for the weekend. Tickets for the event are selling out extremely fast and may already be sold out by the time this issue hits the stands, so good luck to all the ticketless out there.
