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Re-live Whistler's Olympic journey

Whistler Museum opening its doors to Olympic exhibit

To help celebrate Whistler's one-year post-Olympic milestone, the Whistler Museum is opening their doors up to the masses, inviting everyone in to check out their new exhibit and even get a bit crafty with some hands-on activities.

On Sunday, Feb. 13 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., anyone can wander in to enjoy a cup of tea, coffee or hot cocoa and check out the museum's latest exhibit, dubbed "Whistler's Olympic Journey," which explores Whistler's beginnings as a pioneer community, the development of the mountain and the six separate bids that culminated in the 2010 Winter Games. The newest section, "Hosting the World," takes a closer look at Whistler's own story of the 2010 Winter Games, allowing visitors to hoist the Olympic torch, try on a racing bib and much more.

While the adults are exploring the exhibits, kids can get creative under the supervision of Orkidz Art Studio, delving into some great arts and crafts projects. After their projects are finished, kids can grab an "exhibit passport" to guide them through the museum.

The open house is by donation, and everyone is welcome!

 

The backcountry goes to the city

 

In just one week's time, outdoor adventure enthusiasts will emerge from B.C.'s backcountry and make the trek down to Vancouver to take part in the 14th annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF).

The event features an incredible nine full days of films, guest speakers and awe-inspiring presentations, starting with an opening evening featuring live mountain standup comedy by "clownber" Timmy O'Neill , aptly nicknamed "America's most outrageous climber" (AMOK), a multimedia presentation by award-winning mountain filmmaker and kayaker Bryan Smith , photo competition awards and much more.

For a full schedule of events, visit www.vimff.org and check under "Schedule." Tickets to events are available on their website and at MEC stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver, or over the phone at 604-984-4484. Also, if you become a fan of the VIMFF Facebook Page , you'll be entered into a draw to win complimentary tickets to VIMFF events.

 

B.C. gets cultured

 

Culture Days, Canada's newest nation-wide arts and culture initiative, is gearing up for its second year of cross-country initiatives and activities, and B.C. is getting involved in a big way.

The collaborative volunteer-driven event was started in 2010, inviting people from coast-to-coast to celebrate and explore arts and culture within their community, raising awareness and engagement in the process. As part of the program, participating groups and municipalities are encouraged to provide cost-free opportunities for the public to learn more about their cultural activities: for example, cultural groups can open their doors to the public to provide interactive cultural experiences, and individual artists can open their studios to the public and provide demonstrations or hands-on experiences.

British Columbia participated in Culture Days 2010 in a "soft-launch fashion," without a provincial organizer, but at least 75 B.C. organizations and individual artists stepped up to take part in the three days of events and activities held during the last weekend of September.

This year, the BC Culture Days Task Force recently announced that it has engaged the Alliance for Arts and Culture, to coordinate the 2011 BC Culture Days, with the Alliance's director of communications and special events, Kevin Dale McKeown, taking the role of BC coordinator of BC Culture Days and Trudy Van Dop of Van Dop & Associates to serve as the BC Culture Days programmer.




"Today's news is an important step towards a coordinated BC participation in Culture Days 2011, which will take place September 30 and October 1 and 2," BC Culture Days Task Force chair and Arts Umbrella president and CEO Lucille Pacey said in a recent press release, "With the help of the Alliance and Ms. Van Dop we look forward to building on last year's success, enlisting many more participants from across BC and attracting a wider audience to our events and activities."

"This is a wonderful opportunity to work together to promote the value of arts, culture and heritage activities to British Columbians," added McKeown. "We all know how important it is for us to develop relationships with our audiences and communities. This national initiative relies on the collaboration and solidarity of the arts community and all of civil society in general."



Culture Days is supported by the Canadian Arts Summit in collaboration with Culture pour tous, The Banff Centre and with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Everyone is welcome to get involved in B.C. Culture Days. Any cultural or heritage group or individual artist willing to provide a free and interactive cultural experience to the public during the weekend of Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 can simply go online to www.culturedays.ca and register their event in the database.

 

Mountains of Art, north on 99

 

Big Sky Golf and Country Club will play host to a more cultured crowd next weekend, as crowds of art-lovers descend to take part in the two-day Mountains of Art festival, organized by the Pemberton Arts Council.

The festivities begin with an opening gala on Friday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. featuring an art exhibit with 30 local artists' work for sale, plus live music from local jazz trip, Soulsong, and Megatron, a funky trio from Bellingham. The evening also includes a silent auction, gourmet appetizers prepared by Western Promises' chef Michael Guy, and a Schramm Vodka martini bar. Tickets are $15, with a $5 rebate at the door for PAC members.

Mountains of Art continues on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. with a community celebration featuring workshops for children, youth and families: pine needle weaving, hand drum-making, soapstone carving, a musical jam session with Papa Josh and much more. There will also be an opening and closing traditional dancing ceremony with Gerald Gabriel of the St'atl'ixm Nation, as well as performances by Little Bear Productions led by Anita Burleson. For a full schedule of events, visit www.pembertonartscouncil.com .