Hibernating for the winter?
Embrace the cold, enjoy Jasper in January
JASPER, ALTA. — It’s like a big smalltown party in the mountains.
Jasper in January is an annual festival scheduled smack-dab in the middle of winter for those brave enough to celebrate the cold instead of running off to the beaches of Mexico.
“We don’t all have to hibernate throughout the winter,” says Mary Darling, a spokeswoman with Tourism Jasper. “There’s still things you can do.”
Family fun, evening entertainment and outdoor adventures — many of them free — take place daily over two weeks, bringing the town of 5,000 to nearly double its size.
Picture it: making gooey s’mores over an outdoor fire, strapping on snowshoes surrounded by majestic mountains, throwing snowballs inside a pub while sipping a pint of beer, even sporting a Speedo while leaping into an icy lake.
“It’s rejuvenating,” says Peter Scott, a local electrician.
Scott moved from the Ottawa area nine years ago and describes Jasper as one of his favourite places on Earth, “rustic and beautiful.”
Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, Jasper is about a 3½-hour drive west of Edmonton. To many, it’s considered Banff ’s little sister. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While Banff is crowded and commercial, Jasper is more quiet and laid-back.
History shows Jasper was a place where people lived before it became a travel destination. It was settled as a fur trading post, then designated a national park in 1907.
The addition of hotels, spas and five-star restaurants hasn’t dampened its cosy and comfortable feel. And Jasper in January captures that allure, right from ice skating on a frozen pond to noshing on some homemade chili.
Darling says a street party Saturday is one of the festival’s most popular events. The town’s main road is closed to traffic so vendors can sell food, such as burgers and pizza. There are street performers, aboriginal drummers and other live music.
For the first time, liquor will be served from an ice bar along the way. And for those who need a different kind of warm-up, there will be several fire pits going. People can roast marshmallows and settle around the fire with guitars to strum some tunes.
The night caps off with fireworks at 9:30 p.m. — early enough for the kiddies.
Darling promises the festival is bound to help people shake off those post-Christmas blues and enjoy the season before it’s gone.
“It’s really magical to be out in the winter and just renewing your energy about what you can do.”