Winter’s coming. So are winter’s new Whistlerites. And with
that comes an opportunity for all of Whistler’s citizens to get involved in
wishing well these Whistler workers from around the world.
As a four-season destination resort, Whistler’s heart is our
permanent citizens, but the blood that keeps it pumping is a fresh-faced flock
of temporary, transient and telltale transcendental residents who come here
every winter to live, work and play in our home. Whistler Welcome Week is a
great opportunity for the heart of Whistler to get our new blood pumping in the
right direction.
Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) is hosting their
sixth annual Welcome Week from Nov. 10-15, 2008. Beyond bonding long-term
residents with newcomers, goals for Welcome Week include making newcomers to
Whistler feel welcome and valued in our community and to orient them to
available social services and organizations. Each event during the week focuses
on providing fun, inexpensive entertainment and meals for young adults and
gives them an opportunity to get to know each other and what Whistler as a
community has to offer.
“Welcome Week provides our new residents with something beyond
the façade of Whistler, beyond the mountains and into living rooms and dining
rooms through interaction with real families and real Whistler people,” says
Claire Moses, WCSS Community Youth Outreach Worker. “These young folks clearly
start to see what’s really behind everything in this town.”
The Jill Ackhurst Community Welcome Dinner is the Welcome Week
event that brings together over 500 newcomers and 200 locals. Each table at the
dinner is hosted by two or more locals who are joined by six newbie
Whistlerites. The idea is for locals to welcome and help guide newcomers as
they learn about Whistler’s community. The dinner is held in the main ballroom
at the TELUS Whistler Conference Centre and is organized by WCSS with support
from many generous local companies and organizations including Tourism
Whistler, Whistler-Blackcomb, LUNA, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce and the
RMOW.
“For locals, the takeaway is this event brings them back to why
they came to Whistler in the first place,” Moses says. “You can get that
tangible sense of excitement, the passion that these young folks bring to
Whistler is something we all share. Sometimes it gets lost once you’ve been
here for a while.”
WCSS is seeking volunteers for the dinner on Thursday, Nov. 13.
Approximately 200 people are needed to be local table hosts for dinner
beginning at 5 p.m. During dinner, 10 people are needed to help run dishes to
the kitchen, wash dishes in the industrial washer and refill water jugs. The
third group of volunteers will be responsible for taking down and putting away
all equipment used during dinner.
As a further commitment to highlighting “local” at the dinner,
Astrid’s Fine Foods will be organizing a menu of all local food for the second
year in a row. By showcasing the development of the Whistler2020 Food Strategy
and task force, Astrid Cameron Kent of Astrid’s Fine Foods, says we can connect
Whistler with our newest citizens through their stomachs.
“We hope these new young Whistler folks can be proud of coming
to, and being part of, a community that is committed to local food and food
security,” she says. “People who have lived in Whistler for 20 years do not
really know the value of having the farming community of Pemberton as a
neighbour. In a way, we get to connect all locals, longtime and new, with
beautiful local food at this dinner.”
To learn more about Whistler’s on the ground actions to
support Whistler2020 go to Whistler2020.ca
SIDEBAR:
2008 Whistler Welcome Week Schedule of Events
Nov. 10th:
Pancake Brunch Firehall 10-noon
and Snowboard Movie Premier at Rainbow Theatre 7 p.m.
Nov. 11th:
Remembrance Day
Nov. 12th:
WERC Job Fair,Telus Conference Centre, 11-4
p.m.
Scavenger Hunt House BBQ noon - ?
Nov. 13th
: Jill Ackhurst Community Welcome Dinner,
Telus Conference Centre 5 p.m.
Nov 13th:
Lululemon
hosts free yoga at noon, Telus Whistler Conference Foyer.
Nov. 14th
: Luna's Annual, The Pool Party
"Moist".
www.lunawhistler.com
)
Meadow Park Sports Centre 9 p.m.-midnight.
Nov. 15th
: Zero Ceiling Rummage Sale, Telus Conference
Centre
www.zeroceiling.org
Nov. 15th
: Meadow Park
sports Centre Open House (free admission) from open to close!
