Kudos to whomever is responsible for Faith Hill and the great concert on Saturday.
Truly the most professional entertainer ever in Whistler. Totally Awesome concert.
The venue on the other hand was questionable. Changing it from the Creekside was a huge mistake. First of all ,the good tickets that sold out immediately weren't really available for locals so we had to settle for the next best seats, then when the venue was changed those tickets weren’t refundable. They weren't cheap either!
Also, if it had been allowed to go at Creekside the food and drink would have been more than acceptable… which I'm afraid they weren't at good old Base ll. The only drinks that were available were beer (which I could live on), vodka lemonade and cheap, cheap sweet cider. Some patrons were not impressed... the hot dogs and burgers weren't as good as what I can make, there was no where to sit ( I was even told that I couldn't sit on the ground in the beer garden – what about some hay bails cowboys?), the washroom situation was really poor, too little of course, but what about that co-ed party in the men's washroom at 18 Below?
Anyway, maybe it's just me, but with all that free parking, the restaurants, stores, nice views of the Peak and Triconi, shouldn't we be trying to support the Creekside to develop and survive these formative years? And while I'm on the subject, couldn't we use a drug store, liquor store, and post office in this end of town? Who's in charge around here anyway?
Thanks for the great effort on what I'm told was short notice, but please try to learn from it.
Bruce Watt
Whistler
Re: The party’s over
Dear B. Dover:
Strangely, a quick scan of the Squamish, Pemberton and Whistler phone directories does not include a listing for B. Dover — Ben or otherwise. In fact, not a Dover to be found in all 116 white pages.
So, allow me to assume that, despite the Pique’s policy indicating otherwise, you chose not to attach your real name to last week’s letter which more or less blamed me personally for everything that’s wrong in our community. I find it interesting that you chose to have my name appear in print but not your own.
I have been taught that it is important to respect other people’s opinions, even if they differ from your own. I believe that freedom of speech makes our society stronger and I fully accept that feedback and criticism are essential in the process towards making all things better.
So, I invite you to contact me, or if you prefer, the people I work for, to more clearly express your opinions. Perhaps we will only get to the point of agreeing to disagree. On the other hand, it is possible that your views may facilitate change and improve future decisions. Unfortunately, by choosing anonymity you will never know.
Rob McSkimming
Whistler
Last week, I noticed a piece of litter in the ditch in front of our house. I picked it up and discovered that it was actually a flyer from Ledcor, announcing that they wished to meet with the residents of the Upper Squamish Valley in order to address our concerns about the proposed IPP. I can only assume that at one time, the flyer had been stuck to our front gate.
At the meeting, it quickly became apparent that I was one of the lucky ones – there were many, many attendees who had received no notice at all. The Ledcor representative’s final defence was that rather than inform all the residents of the meeting, he would rely on the local "word of mouth".
It seems to me that if Ledcor truly cared about the concerns of local residents, they would have made a genuine effort to inform everyone of the meeting, rather than rely on us to do the work for them. Even a half-hearted effort would have been nice. Instead, they showed about as much diligence as one would expect from a 12-year-old disgruntled paperboy.
Among other things, their proposal would allow them to hold back 24 hours of river flow upstream of our valley. This means that when the autumn rains really begin to fall, we’re reliant on Ledcor’s competency to protect us from the same thing that happened to the Paradise Valley last year, when the Daisy Lake Dam finally opened its gates. Somehow, I’m not filled with a whole lot of confidence. I mean, if they can’t even deliver a flyer, how can we expect them to manage a multi-million dollar facility?
Maybe next time they call a meeting, they will hire a suitably qualified subcontractor to distribute flyers for them – I‚m sure there are a lot of conscientious 12-year-olds out there looking for work.
David Lane
Lauren Fraser
Upper Squamish Valley
Thanks for the Sensational Opening — Having Fun with Art
Thank you to everyone involved, especially those of you who came out on Thursday evening to view the photography and enjoy the multi-media, multi-dimensional artistic opening for the Wild Life of Burning Man Photo Exhibit at MY Place.
Yes I was involved, I managed the framing, hanging and publicity, I did leave the opening night to Christian Kessner and the dynamic KLC-Chili duo. You guys did an awesome job, the MY Place upper lobby (Scotia Creek Lobby) was transformed, a stage, fabric drapes, blacked out and rockin’ party going on.
Thank you Chili, KLC and Christian for your great efforts. Thanks too to all the artists who performed, dancers, DJs, musicians, technicians, film, slides, lighting, writers, drummers, tarot, Reiki, and anyone else I’ve missed out. Thank you to all those who helped decorate and clean up. In the spirit of Burning Man you gave your time for free and donated for the greater cause – a Wild Life fun creative night out. Thank you.
Thanks too to MY Place for the bar, friendly service and for hosting this month long show.
A special thank you goes out to all the businesses that supported us, Après Restaurant, Whistler Cooks and Astrid’s Fine Foods for providing beautiful tasty free food, also to HotBox Internet Café, Silicone Mountain Printing and Whistler Wedding Planners for your contributions.
Equally we’d like to thank the hair and make-up artists who transformed a few us for the night (and maybe longer).
I’d also like to thank you, our local press for the coverage you have given us. There is no doubt your writers’ enthusiasm and interest helped the opening success – it’s very satisfying to have so many people contribute and have fun with art.
It was a great night, a fun night, beyond our expectations. I/we hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did. It’s good to see a big turn out for a photo opening. I think the subject matter and impending Burning Man event has some pull (Aug 30 th -Sept 6 th in Nevada, www.burningman.com). Maybe we’ll have to do this again next year, with a wider collection of artists’ work. We had one suggestion to take the show on the road, but I fear that could be a full time affair.
Your support is very much appreciated. The photo show is on display until Aug. 31 st at MY Place, so do check it out and please remember to sign the guest book.
On behalf of us all, Allan Crawford, Chili Thom and KLC, Christian Kessner, John Hewson, Xandra Grayson and Nick Davies too… Thank You Whistler.
John Hewson (contributing photographer)
Whistler
I write to respond to the article by Alison Taylor, "Park City provides insights two years after Games" (Pique, Aug. 6)
I am a veteran of two Olympics as a staff member to Atlanta (1996) and previously an employee of Tourism Canada during Calgary (1988). I cannot agree more with the findings of Mr. Kelly, and others regarding the business opportunities and future that lies ahead for Whistler.
There is no question that there is plenty of revenue to go around for tourism operators during Vancouver 2010. However, the notion of stratospheric dollars is merely a myth and I commend your civic leaders for learning from others.
Yes, the restaurants, T-shirt and pin manufacturers will do quite nicely, however, those who see the Winter Olympics as a panacea and cure all will be quite disappointed. I would caution those real estate developers to err on the conservative side.
In other Olympic cities and towns, the much anticipated real estate boom has rarely materialized. Yes, there will be those lucky few whose homes or condos command tens of thousands for the Olympic period, yet, for most, it will be a busy time, however, one should not anticipate revenue much different that what will be commanded in 2008, for example.
The greatest challenge and opportunity for Whistler is to mobilize your community to think beyond the one month period of Vancouver 2010. Resist the temptation to price gouge, and to mobilize your resources to captialize on the unprecedented and free media exposure that is before you.
In the medium and long term beyond 2010, there is simply no better media than to have NBC's The Today Show broadcasting live from the village, the vignettes of travel and tourism coverage that the international media will produce about Whistler, and the simple thrill and excitement of the giant slalom on nightly television around the world. In advertising dollars, you simply cannot buy such coverage – and therein lies Whistler's opportunity.
Whistler is blessed with an unprecedented opportunity to showcase your community to the world (much of which will be free). Mr. Kelly, the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Whistler, Intrawest and others are quite correct to undertake these fact finding missions to learn from others. This is money well spent.
Ian Hamilton
Kanata, Ontario
Would the person who stole the red Gary Fisher Joshua Y frame bike from our family home on Balsam Way please be kind enough to return it.
The 11-year-old girl you stole it from would really like it back!
The Britt/Wallace/Carrell family
Whistler
Thanks to David MacPhail for his letter regarding the Whistler community’s responsibility to create a community with Fire Smart wildfire interface areas.
Whistler claims to want to lead the way and present itself to the world as a leader for sustainability: implementing a Fire Smart wildfire community plan in Whistler would certainly make Whistler a leader. We would be reducing pollution and setting an example on doing things right!
What on earth am I talking about, you say?
A recent study shows that B.C.’s wild Chinook salmon have a higher level of fire retardant in their systems than any other fish in the world. Could this be an indication that we use a lot of fire retardant to fight fires in B.C.? Could we reduce the amount of fire retardant used to fight wildfires and reduce the risk to our homes if we had better wildfire interface areas in our communities? Perhaps this could be part of Whistler being that sustainable example council is always promoting.
Sure, we might have to thin our precious forests and remove some of the trees from our properties, but have you seen the forests around us? They are dying and in these tinder dry conditions it is only a matter of time before someone drops a cigarette or lightning strikes.
Think about it.
But then again, B.C.’s Forest Service held a Fire Smart information session for local residents back in the spring; it was well publicized in the local papers. When we attended the meeting there were only four locals there. So maybe everyone would prefer to eat polluted fish, pay higher fire insurance premiums and have to rebuild after a wildfire.
And don’t think just because we’re Whistler that we will have the fire put out for us: if the Forest Service is busy they just don’t have the equipment to save Whistler!
PS. I’m all for creating a Fire Smart community.
Karen Blaylock
Whistler
