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Everyone granted immunity on Cover Me Canada
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So, Ali Milner is safe for another week. But so is everyone else on Cover Me Canada . You all can thank Paul Anka for that.

The four remaining contestants covered classic Anka songs while the man himself, was featured as a guest judge. And then he pulled a grandpa and spoiled all the youthful contestants with immunity. The studio audience erupted in ferocious applause while the confused contestants furrowed their brows and clapped awkwardly on the stage. It was a special moment.

Milner, for her part, took on Anka's "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," reworking it into a ska tune. The judges were less enthusiastic about her performance than in previous weeks but all gave their approval, with Ron Fair saying he wasn't sure about the arrangement but that she "could win this thing" if she makes the right choices over the next couple of weeks.

But it's not all up to her or to the judges. Milner fans can help secure Milner's victory by boosting her social media score. It's coming down to the wire folks! Do it! Help her win! It's in your power! Forget politics - here, your vote really does matter!

To vote, and to show Whistler favourite redhead that you really do care, visit www.cbc.ca/covermecanada. Voting is unlimited. Get on this, Whistler.

Cover Me Canada airs on CBC at 9 p.m., Sunday

Alliance for Cultural Tourism has arrived

Please welcome the Alliance for Cultural Tourism (ACT), an informal group of people interested in advancing Whistler's cultural agenda.

ACT plans to put into practice Steven Thorne's divisive cultural tourism development strategy report, "A Tapestry of Place" by developing a comprehensive cultural plan and move Whistler's cultural tourism strategy forward.

"It's an evolutionary thing. We're just getting started and trying to figure out how does an alliance work," says Anne Popma, spokesperson for ACT.

While ACT includes employees of the RMOW, Tourism Whistler, Whistler Arts Council and Chamber of Commerce, ACT is not a municipal committee or a not-for-profit society.

"We don't want it to be a municipal initiative," Popma says. "We want it to be an initiative of the community, not just the arts sector but the business sector as well."

ACT receives no funding, but the RMOW has donated staff time to help ACT organize meetings. Popma says several members of the alliance are also in positions to identify potential sources of revenue to develop the strategy.

So far, none of these revenue sources have been pegged. In fact, ACT has yet to hold its first meeting. Popma says this will be held sometime before year's end, where ACT will create a course of action based on Thorne's report and take it to council for consideration. (Because the RMOW paid for the Thorne report, any plans that arise as a result will be taken before council.)

ACT has evolved out of the Cultural Tourism Advisory Group, which provided information and perspective for Thorne, a "place-based" tourism expert, while he was writing "A Tapestry of Place."

In the $60,000 report, Thorne compiled Whistler's cultural experiences into three categories - foreground, midground and background - using the tapestry metaphor to illustrate the different types of experiences that make up the whole of a cultural tourism destination. Thorne also offered suggestions on what Whistler needs to market itself as such a destination.

Since then, some community members have been critical of the report for being a lot of money with no obvious or immediate results.

But Popma says that Whistler's development into a cultural tourism destination is a slow process that will take some time to evolve. Culture - the necessary and obvious ingredient for a cultural tourism destination - needs time to grow organically and Whistler's culture has more to grow.

"When you look at what it is now and compare it to what it was two years ago, we're quantum leaps forward," Popma says. "Now what we have to do is continue to give them (artists) opportunities to grow as artists and exhibit their work."

ACT will be seeking new members in the New Year and will hope to include members of the business community and the hospitality sector, as well as from the arts community.

 

And the Whistler Music Search found...

After four weeks of open mic glory and free booze for the judges, the Whistler Music winner is Mike Frommontreal. Congratulate him, folks. Applaud. Give him a hug.

Frommontreal (not his real name) beat out competitors Willie Cottle, Jenna Mae and Tractor for the top prize of a brand new Takamine guitar and year-long bragging rights.

According to Rachel Thom, winner of the 2010 talent search and one of four judges this year, Frommontreal's "ambient guitar...sucked in your full attention, along with his haunting vocals, were the clear choice for me. The guy has chops."

Sweet.

Write a novel, this month

Now that the Whistler Readers & Writers Festival is done and gone, participants are no doubt inspired and itching get words out on the page.

Here's their chance: November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the world's largest writing challenge, where participants are invited to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.

The Squamish Public Library is encouraging people to drop in on two separate Sundays as part of the challenge. It's free and open to everyone.

The competition was founded by freelance writer Chris Baty and "20 other overcaffeinated yahoos" in 1999 and is now run by the not-for-profit Office of Letters and Light, based in Oakland, Cal.

 

In 2010, the competition had over 200,500 entries. Since its inception, the seeds of over 90 published novels were planted during NaNoWriMo, including Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, both #1 New York Times Best Sellers.

If that's not reason enough to get typin', I don't know what is. For more information or to register, visit www.nanowrimo.org.