Media Releases
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Explore public art, a free concert, take a heritage walk or run away and join the circus – celebrate the art of summer in Whistler
Tourism Whistler media release
For immediate release - July 03, 2012
Explore public art, a free
concert, take a heritage walk or run away and join the circus – celebrate the
art of summer in Whistler
Suggested Tweet:
Get artsy in #Whistler: explore public art, take in a concert or join the
circus! And enter our Perfect
Whistler Summer Getaway Contest
Whistler, B.C. – For art enthusiasts of all ages – those wanting to
explore Whistler’s arts and cultural heritage, whether it be through a stroll
of the resort’s many studios and galleries, through an interactive public art
tour or a hands-on circus workshop – Whistler delivers the ultimate art
experience.
This summer, Whistler takes art to a new level, offering enhanced public
art programs, a new heritage and art walking tour and a host of activities
and entertainment including workshops, artist demonstrations and concerts.
This summer marks the launch of Whistler’s
Public Art Tour, offering a number of ways to learn about the pieces of
Whistler’s public
art collection: through smart-phone enabled Quick Response (QR) codes
linked to a descriptive webpage,
by calling the tour’s phone line at 604-935-8215 to hear an audio
description, by using a printed brochure and map available at the Village
Host kiosks or the Whistler Visitor Information Centre, or online at www.whistler.ca/tour
for a virtual tour.
Artwalk
is a free program, from July 1 to September 4, featuring the works of more
than 50 regional artists and artisans displayed in more than 40 host venues
throughout the resort. Artwalk is a walking tour that combines art and
business, opening up high-traffic business locales to artists who can, in
turn, bring their art to the public. As cafes, retail outlets, hotels and
restaurants take on the role of venue, guests will find themselves surrounded
by beautiful works of art, in a variety of mediums, sometimes in the most
unlikely of locations. Kicking off Artwalk is the opening reception on
Thursday, July 5 from 6:30 – 9 p.m. The village-wide opening reception
features live entertainment, artist demonstrations and children’s crafts.
Visit here
for more details. New this year is the Celebration
of Arts weekend July 6-8, featuring daily guided artwalk tours, artist
demonstrations, musicians and roving characters while local artists compete
at the Whistler Arts Council’s third annual “Paint Off”. On Sunday,
July 8, the Whistler Skate Park is the location for the Paint and Shoot Skate
Jam with graffiti artists painting from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and a DJ-led skate
jam from 2-4 p.m.
A collaboration between the Whistler
Arts Council and the Whistler
Museum, art and heritage tours are offered Friday through Sunday,
throughout the summer, beginning July 6. The tour leaves from the Whistler
Visitor Centre at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. with local, knowledgeable guides
sharing stories from Whistler’s past while focusing on the diverse public art
that is displayed throughout the village, as well as many of the Artwalk host
venues. Expect to see works by a variety of artists including Suzanne
Johnston, Ron Smid, Vincent Massey, Chili Thom, Mark Richards, Andrea Mueller
and Susie Cipolla, among others.
The Valley of Dreams Walking Tour, offered by the Whistler Museum, leaves
from the Whistler Visitor Centre daily at 1 p.m. in July and August. Learn
about Whistler’s unique history in this one-hour tour; led by long-time
Whistler locals – some of the most colourful characters of the community.
Whistler’s a great place for children to participate in hands-on art
workshops during the Whistler
Children’s Art Festival. The festival offers a comprehensive schedule of
workshops for all ages in a variety of mediums, as well as entertainment and
activities. This year, the Vancouver Circus School will present free
performances and workshops at Whistler Olympic Plaza. Performances take place
July 10-12 at 7 and 8:30 p.m. while the workshops take place July 11-13 at
10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. In addition to the onsite entertainment,
popular children’s groups The Monkey
Bunch and Mexican folk/ Latin soul group Locarno perform
in in Village Square with the Monkey Bunch taking to the stage July 13 at 7
p.m. and Locarno performing July 14 at 8 p.m.
The music continues in Whistler throughout the summer with upcoming Whistler
Presents concerts including The Vancouver
Symphony Orchestra July 20 and 21, The Mocking
Bird and Wil on
July 27 and Chantal
Kreviazuk on July 28. Jason McCoy performs
August 3, Spirit
of the West August 4, Great Lake
Swimmers August 5, Vince Vaccaro
Band and Blackie and
the Rodeo Kings August 31, The Boom
Booms and Kytami
September 1 and Emmanuel Jal
September 2.
At the Point
artist-run centre on Alta Lake Road, a freelance writers’ symposium is
scheduled for July 5 while improve theatre workshops take place July 10 -
August 7. Expressive art workshops in songwriting, theatre, jewelry design,
fashion makeup and face painting, mixed media painting, recycled fashion
design, and interpretive dance take place through July and August, leading
toward a performance and art exposition at the Flag Stop Theatre and Arts
Festival August 11.
Those interested in the most up-to-date information regarding programming
are encouraged to visit www.whistler.com/events
where the comprehensive events calendar is regularly updated.
Enter the Perfect
Whistler Summer Getaway Contest for a chance to win your ultimate summer
getaway. Four grand prizes ranging in value from $1,570 to $1,790 are up for
grabs: whether you’re in the mood to chill, connect, meander or adventure –
it’s all up to you to decide which prize you would like.
Whistler-based travel consultants at whistler.com can also customize a
vacation package, taking care of flights, transportation, accommodation and
activities. Call 1.800.WHISTLER (1.800.944.7853) to request a no-obligation
quote or visit whistler.com
for more details and offers.
Faces of Whistler:
Chili Thom
To view the world through the artful eyes of Chili Thom; oh what a colourful
world it would be!
Artist, DJ, filmmaker, adventure guide; Thom is Whistler's original
Renaissance man.
A native British Columbian, Thom combines his love of nature and the outdoors
with his passion and talent for fine arts, using nature to inspire his
creations. He's travelled the province as a wilderness guide, dedicating his
time to appreciating the world around him, reflecting that world through his
creations in paintings, films and music. Working primarily in acrylic paints,
Thom's style, as he explains it, "uses linear brush strokes, unique
perspectives and saturated colours to capture a sense of motion and the
passage of time ... to invoke a mood similar to actually being out there in
the hills."
To read more about Chili Thom and the arts in Whistler, visit online media
room and search arts and culture.
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Whistler
Festivals, Events & Animation Program
Celebration has always been an important aspect of Whistler culture as was
highlighted during the 2010 Winter Games when the community presented the
most outstanding display of sport, entertainment and culture the town had
ever seen. The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) and resort partners
have continued to build on this momentum by coming together to develop
quality year-round, cultural programming. Complementing the many great events
the resort has become known for, the Festivals, Events and Animation
(FE&A) program showcases a variety of events, concerts and lively village
entertainment for all ages. In support of Whistler’s place-based cultural
tourism strategy, the RMOW invests in many cultural projects. The FE&A
program is financed almost entirely by the funds it receives from the
Province of British Columbia’s Resort Management Initiative (RMI) designed to
invest in programs and projects to build tourism in the province. Click here for
additional details about the FE&A program.
Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting
destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in
North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and
Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of
accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes,
condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants
and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from
world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking,
rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home
to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.
Tourism
Whistler is the member-based
marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the
Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as
well as 1.800.WHISTLER and whistler.com
- Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and information. As the
convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler,
Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and
operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels,
restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.
Media can visit whistler.com/media
for Whistler facts, media releases, story starters, local personality
profiles and access to images and B-roll.
Media
Contacts
Tourism
Whistler
Kerry Duff
Manager, Travel Media
T: 604.938.2709
E: kduff@tourismwhistler.com
W: www.whistler.com/media
T: www.Twitter.com/mediaTWhistler
F: www.Facebook.com/GoWhistler
Resort Municipality
of Whistler
RMOW Communications
T: 604.967.3030
E: Communications@whistler.ca
W:
www.whistler.ca
T: @RMWhistler
F: RMOW