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Local talent tunes up at Town Plaza

There are some big-name artists set to take the stage at Whistler Medals Plaza, but organizers haven't forgotten to include some of the local talent that residents have come to know and love.

There are some big-name artists set to take the stage at Whistler Medals Plaza, but organizers haven't forgotten to include some of the local talent that residents have come to know and love.

Town Plaza, located on the Village Stroll and bordered by the Gap, Caramba! and The Mountain Club, will play host to a range of homegrown singers and songwriters throughout the Games, from noon until 6 p.m.

The Whistler Live! programming team had to sort through a list of more than 60 local musicians who made submissions to the Whistler Arts Council for their artist registry, ultimately selecting a range of solo artists, duos and acoustic bands to perform while artists paint and create on stages. The selected musicians include Jesse Thom, Brother Twang, Jon Shrier, Rachel Thom, Spy vs. Spy, Dana-Marie Battaglia, Alice Newton and John Bottomley.

Town Plaza will also serve as the central hub for families, offering children's entertainment and arts and crafts and great photo ops along with the live music. Layna Mawson from Orkidz Crafts will lead mask- and flag-making workshops, while artists from the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre will teach traditional First Nations crafts. Local artists Stan Matwychuk, Olivier Roy and Vanessa Stark are tasked with creating interactive community murals, while children's entertainers including Mitten Strings, Will Stroet & His Backyard Band, Norman Foote & Friends and Bobs & Lolo are featured on "family weekends."

A selection of talented street performers including the Duh Hockey Guys, Transe-Express street arts and Whistler's Michele Bush as "Village Hostess with the Mostest" will rove throughout the village, moving from site-to-site as part of the Whistler Live! lineup. For more details on Whistler Live! programming, visit www.whistler2010.com.

 

Telling tales in 2010

Following the lead of Salt Lake City Games organizers, Whistler Live! organizers have been inspired to add a seventh live site to their arts and cultural offerings, hosting a special daily storytelling session for families tucked in beside Blackcomb Bridge across from Rebagliati Park.

Storytelling at Dusk will feature local fiction and non-fiction writers, First Nations storytellers and long-time locals, including Stephen Vogler, Marie Abraham, G.D. Maxwell, Marcel Richoz, Michel Beaudry, Feet Banks, Nigel Woods, Tanina Williams, Vania Stager, Libby McKeever, Rebecca Wood Barrett, Joan Richoz, Isobel MacLaurin and Cindy Filipenko.

Starting Saturday, Feb. 13 and running until Saturday, Feb. 27, people are welcome to come gather around the campfire to hear tales from the Sea to Sky corridor, urban myths of Whistler and traditional Aboriginal legends. Telling tales can be heard between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

 

A backcountry brag-off

Powderhound  photographers who've spent a lot of time in B.C.'s backcountry this season have a chance to win some pretty sweet prizes, thanks to a brand new competition launched by the Backcountry Lodges of British Columbia Association (BLBCA).

The Big Ol' B.C. Backcountry Brag Off photo contest features three competition categories: skiing, hiking and wildlife/nature.

Submissions will be judged on how much the image and accompanying tale exemplify someone's best day in B.C.'s backcountry, visual energy and how the shot captures B.C.'s adventurous spirit. The winner will receive a CAA-approved avalanche skills training course for four, a pair of G3 El Hombre skis, G3 skins and more. The contest is open until Monday, Feb. 15. For more information, visit www.bcbackcountry.ca.

Storytelling with Switzerland

Parents on the hunt for some family-friendly international fun to kick start their Games experience should make their way to The Mountain Club on Thursday, Feb. 11, as Switzerland's most famous cartoon character, Globi, will be visiting Swiss House to entertain families with animated storytelling sessions.

Globi will be reading from his first English book, Globi's Trip Through Switzerland, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. All children who attend will also receive a special treat.

 

Squamish gets in the spirit

During the Olympics, Squamish's Brennan Park Recreation Centre will be temporarily transformed into the Squamish Spirit Centre. Aside from acting as a community centre for locals to gather and watch sporting events, the centre will play host to the Squamish Historical Society, Squamish Nation and Squamish Writers Group.

The three groups are intent on giving residents and visitors alike a taste of Squamish history and culture, offering a range of insights into the community of Squamish.

The Squamish Historical Society will be showcasing photographic displays and screening a number of their original films, including Brackendale Then and Now, First People of the Pacific Northwest, Squamish Nation: Stories From the Heart, and The West Coast Logging Life alongside two new films: Riding With the First Nations Snowboard Team and Tribal Journeys, in between sporting events on the big screen.

The Squamish Writers Group will be distributing copies of Stories of Mine, their collection of short tales from local residents that explore why they came to the community, and why they stayed.

Finally, the Squamish Nation will be presenting a photo exhibit and bringing in a 30-foot family canoe, which was created by well-known Squamish Nation artist, Xwa Lack Tun (Rick Harry).

These exhibits and displays will be placed throughout the centre for the duration of the Games.

 

Whistler, west coast music hits the web

When you're wandering around local shops during the Olympics, pay attention to the subtle tunes you hear playing in the background - you could be listening to one of Whistler's many talented musicians being streamed live via a brand-new Internet radio station.

Steve Clark, a local rhythm guitar player and all-around music lover is preparing to release a new, interactive online radio station to the world. Coincidentally, it should be up and running on Feb. 12, the first day of the Olympic Games.

The radio station is just the first part of the Whistler Media Network - or the WMN - a new company created by a group of local artists, including Clark, who are trying to build a support network dedicated to artists on the West Coast.

"Traditional radios are done with," Clark said with a laugh. "Satellite radio is struggling, but Internet radio is just coming about and with Internet radio, you're not dealing with any sort of CRTC."

Local businesses - and at-home listeners - will be able to log onto their website, www.wmn.fm, for free and listen to music by West Coast musicians, many of whom are from the Whistler area.

"It's a database of local artist, for one, and we're going to host, in the beginning, one radio station," Clark said. In the future they could create new stations for different genres of music.

Clark and his team are well on their way to having at least 100 artists on board for the launch.

"Record labels have been the biggest contributor, to be honest," he said.

Independent record labels from Vancouver have brought artists like Daniel Wesley, Dan Mangan, Marianas Trench and Goodbye Beatdown on-board to the new station.

WMN creators are focusing on the design and functionality of their application, creating an interface that will allow users to interact with their media, search the database and filter through content to build their own libraries and save their favourite tracks. They plan to launch their full interface by the end of February. But to start with, they want to go live with a scaled-down version of the site in time for the Olympics so that local businesses can tune in and showcase West Coast musicians to visitors in town for the Games.

"Why not local music? Because there's tonnes of wicked local music and I'm going to prove that to people," Clark said.

"For the period of the Olympics, let's encourage businesses to have music that is governed, so they don't have to worry about their employees playing whatever they want, and it's suitable and commercial-free."

They hope to be able to offer two playlists, at first, a mellower "coffee shop" blend and a more upbeat mix that's suitable for a skate or snowboard shop.

Anyone interested in learning more about WMN or using their new service as a soundtrack during the Games should simply tune into www.wmn.fm on Friday, Feb. 12.