WORLD SKI & SNOWBOARD FESTIVAL
April 8 -17 | Whistler Tickets and info: wssf.com
1 Music. What began as an event dedicated mostly to winter sports has grown to become a major music festival. This year, acts include A Tribe Called Red, Sumner Brothers, Badbadnotgood, Bear Mountain, Willa, and Mat the Alien. The Outdoor Concert Series takes place at the WSSF festival Main Stage, located in Skier’s Plaza. Most days the live music begins at 2:30 p.m. and finishes at 5:30 p.m.
2 Comedy. Vancouver comic Ivan Decker hosts the Whistler Comedy Showdown, a standup competition.
3 Films and photography. In the 72hr Filmmaker Showdown, filmmakers are tasked to shoot, edit and produce a three-to-five minute short film within 100km radius of Whistler over 72 hours. An expert panel of judges selects a winner. In the Pro Photographer Showdown, photogs compete with “images that capture both time and the human spirit,” according to the WSSF website.
4 Multiplicity. Using a mix of photography, slide shows, video and anecdotes, mountain world personalities deliver inspirational visual storytelling in this event. This year, guests include local climber Jimmy Martinello, Vancouver-based ultra-marathoner Dr. Pushpa Chandra and writer Bruce Kirkby.
5 Sports, of course. North America’s largest annual snowsport, music, and mountain culture celebration, the WSSF grew out of the 1994 World Technical Skiing Championships on Blackcomb Mountain. This year, sporting events include an invitational roller derby bout (local Whistler and Squamish teams take on the Brick House Betties from Comox), a skiing and snowboarding competition for teens and a snowboarding race.