Tag Archives: Whistler Community Arts Council

A Bizarre Fundraiser

Posted on November 22, 2022 | Leave a comment

There are many options when it comes to holiday shopping in Whistler and, for many, craft fairs and markets are looked forward to as an opportunity to fine something unique while supporting local artists. For many years, the best known craft market in Whistler was the Bizarre Bazaar.

Ten years before the first Bizarre Bazaar was organized by the Whistler Community Arts Council (now called Arts Whistler) in 1987, the Alta Lake Community Club (ALCC) began hosting their annual Fall Fair fundraiser for the Club where local artists could sell handmade crafts among other activities. The first Fall Fair in 1977 was held in the gym of Myrtle Philip School and was so successful that it made a profit in its first year. By 1985, the Fall Fair had grown large enough that it moved into the recently opened Conference Centre.

Christmas decorations are sold at the Alta Lake Community Club’s Fall Fair in 1984. Some tables at the Bizarre Bazaar would have looked similar. Whistler Question Collection, 1984

Like the Fall Fair, the Bizarre Bazaar began in the Myrtle Philip School gym as a fundraiser, this one to support the Whistler Children’s Art Festival. At the time, the Arts Council was still young (Arts Whistler celebrated their 40th year of operations this year), had no office space, and was run by a group of dedicated and hands-on board members and volunteers, including Gail Rybar who coordinated the first Bizarre Bazaar in 1987.

Held on December 5, 1987 the first Bizarre Bazaar included sales of local arts, crafts and food, a raffle, live entertainment from flautist Dorothy Halton and Celtic harpist Theodore Gabriel, lunch and dinner, a “beverage garden,” children’s craft workshops with Pene Domries, and photos with Santa. Like the Fall Fair of the ALCC, the first year of the Bizarre Bazaar was reportedly a success and raised enough money to fund the Children’s Art Festival in 1988. According to long time Arts Council board member Joan Richoz, however, the first year was not without its challenges.

Gail Rybar, organizer of the first Bizarre Bazaar in 1987. Whistler Question Collection, Bonny Makarewicz, 1993

Looking back over 25 years of Bizarre Bazaars in 2013, Richoz recalled that the volunteer organizers had to put long hours and a lot of effort into the first market. They had borrowed tables from the Delta Mountain Inn (now the Hilton) and, though the hotel was located not far from the school had to transport the tables over snowbanks. A heavy snow on December 4 meant that some vendors from outside of Whistler were not able to make it, while others left the market early in order to make it home. Volunteers set up stalls and workshops and even made chili so that everyone working the market would have dinner to eat.

In the following years, the Bizarre Bazaar grew and also came to include a bake sale fundraiser for the Whistler Museum & Archives Society. Museum volunteers including Florence Petersen, Joan Deeks, Lil Goldsmid, Isobel MacLaurin, Kathy Macalister, Shirley Langtry, Viv Jennings, Darlyne Christian and more would spend weeks ahead of the market baking in order to raise money for the organization. Other community groups also got involved, with the Girl Guides running activities, the Whistler Community Services Society operating the food concession, the Whistler Public Library selling tickets to their own annual fundraiser, and both the Whistler Singers and the Whistler Children’s Chorus performing seasonal numbers.

When a new Myrtle Philip Community School opened on Lorimer Road in 1992, the Bizarre Bazaar moved with it and continued to run out of the school gym until 1996 when it moved into the Conference Centre. In the 2000s, the market continued to expand and change, moving to a weekend in November, partnering with Bratz Biz (a youth artisan market for local young entrepreneurs) in 2006, occasionally switching location to the Westin Resort, and changing its name to the Arts Whistler Holiday Market.

Mary Jones inspects one of the delicate and exquisitely crafted small wood boxes by Mountenay of Squamish at the 1994 Bizarre Bazaar. Whistler Question Collection, Bonny Makarewicz, 1994

This winter, though there is no Bizarre Bazaar or Arts Whistler Holiday Market, Bratz Biz and the Whistler Artisan Market will be taking place in the Upper Village on November 26 & 27. If you’re in search of archival images of Whistler, we will be at the Whistler Artisan Market and can’t wait to see you there!

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Whistler’s First Children’s Festival

Posted on May 31, 2022 | Leave a comment

In a town known for festivals featuring mountain bikes, snowsports, and fine dining, you might be surprised to learn that the longest running festival in Whistler began as a way to expose local and visiting children to different forms of visual and performing arts.

The first Whistler Children’s Art Festival was held in 1983, just one year after the Whistler Community Arts Council (now known as Arts Whistler, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year!) was formed in 1982. In February 1983, the Arts Council began planning for what they hoped would be the first of many Children’s Art Festivals. Over the next few months, a committee of fourteen volunteers led by Margaret Long spent many hours planning for the two-day event.

The planning committee of volunteers meets to plan the 1995 Whistler Children’s Art Festival. Whistler Question Collection, 1995.

The first festival was a combination of hands-on workshops, performances, and author readings, as well as an art show at Blackcomb Lodge featuring works for children by professional artists. Over June 18 and 19, children could attend 38 workshop sessions at Myrtle Philip School, then located next to the Whistler Village. The workshops were mainly led by artists and instructors from Whistler and Vancouver and included pottery, banner making, mask making, photography, writing, and, of course, painting and sketching with Isobel MacLaurin. Other activities included face painting, a flower painting contest on the nearby plywood construction fences (in 1983 there were still quite a few lots under construction in the first part of the Village to be developed), readings, karate demonstrations, and performances by the Celestial Circus, Pied Pear, and a children’s choir under the direction of Molly Boyd.

A shirt-printing workshop takes place in Myrtle Philip School during the 1991 Whistler Children’s Art Festival. Whistler Question Collection, 1991.

According to Long, all but two of the workshop sessions were filled to capacity and one parent told the Whistler Question that their children were so excited for the festival they barely slept the night before. From the thank yous printed in the local paper after the festival, it was clearly a community event with support from hundreds of volunteers and many of the local businesses.

The success of the first Whistler Children’s Art Festival led to an even bigger festival in 1984. More than 65 workshops were offered for a small fee, including many of the favourites from the year before. Setsuko Hamazaki led an origami workshop while Penny Domries led a graffiti workshop; Arlene Byne taught children how to paint their faces while Cecilia Mavrow taught others about writing poetry. Under the Whistler Resort Association’s brightly striped tent in Village Square, groups listened to stories from authors such as Robert Munsch, Elizabeth Brockmann, Graham Walker, and Linda Lesch and watched acts including the Extraordinary Clown Band and breakdancers in Jane Bailey’s dance company.

A performance takes place in Village Square during the 1985 Whistler Children’s Art Festival. Whistler Question Collection, 1986.

The festival continued to grow throughout he 1980s, though they began to run out of space to hold workshops. In June 1983, the eleventh festival moved to a new location in the new, larger Myrtle Philip School on Lorimer Road where about 130 workshop sessions were offered. In 2005, the festival moved to Creekside and in more recent years (not including the past two, when it has been held online) the festival has returned to the Whistler Village. Though the original school may be long gone, there are still many familiar elements to the festival, which, this year, is taking place over two weekends (that past two weekends, May 21-22 and 28-29).

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A Hole in the Village

Posted on May 17, 2022 | Leave a comment

In the early 1990s, Larco Investments Ltd. had grand plans for their lot in the Whistler Village. The lot, which at the time had been serving as a parking lot for skiers and visitors, was often referred to locally as the Keg Lot, as it was located next to the building that houses the Keg restaurant. Unfortunately, over the summer of 1993, it also became known as the Keg Lot Hole.

David Evans of SCS Engineering checks an anchor in the hold excavated on the Keg Lot. The anchors are designed to ensure the concrete walls of the hole don’t collapse or slump from erosion. Whistler Question Collection, Bonny Makarewicz 1993.

Larco’s original plans for the Keg Lot featured a “bowling and condominium hotel complex,” including three levels of parking, a 24 – 34 lane bowling alley, health and fitness spa, car wash for the use of guests, commercial spaces, a restaurant, and, of course, guest accommodations. All this was to be built over two phases, with the first phase completed by May 1994.

Despite a few hiccups over their building permit, the excavation of the Keg Lot was well underway in July 1993. In order to provide the required 650 parking stalls and other underground spaces, a very large hold was dug. According to one report in the Whistler Question, the lot looked “like the set for a science fiction film,” with an impressively large crater surrounded by “miles” of plywood paneling. In an effort to make the plywood walls more attractive, Marion Harding of the Shepard Gallery and the Whistler Community Arts Council (now known as Arts Whistler) called on residents and visitors alike to decorate the boards. Established and aspiring artists were told they could paint whatever they liked, while being reminded that the panels would be seen by all ages.

Artists at work on panels along the Village Stroll over the summer of 1993. Whistler Question Collection, Kevin Damaskie, 1993.

Rumours and suggestions of problems at the Keg Lot began to circulate not long after the lot was excavated, centering on the Ministry of Environment’s unexpected requirement that a $2.7 million water basin be constructed below the bowling alley. The unforeseen cost led Larco to begin negotiating concessions with the municipality, asking that the RMOW take over construction of part of the parking structure or eliminate some parking stalls, as well as for concessions on the buildings’ design requirements. The municipality did not agree to Larco’s demands, pointing out that they could not be on the hook every time something went wrong with a development. On August 4, 1993, Larco had announced that it was temporarily halting the project until an agreement could be reached. By the next week, it was accepted that the hold would remain as it was until at least the next spring. This presented various problems: the RMOW had begun work on Village Gate Boulevard that depended on the work on the Keg Lot going ahead, the Village area was down a parking lot, and the lot (while not the first hole to be left in the Village) was considered unsightly.

Artist Matthew Bankert works on his submission to the panel competition: Post-Apocalyptic Corn. Whistler Question Collection, Kevin Damaskie, 1993.

While work was stopped on the lot, the artwork on the panels surrounding the Keg Lot continued to grow. By mid-August, about 40 of the 117 panels had already been painted and only six panels were still up for grabs. The subject matter varied: next to the North Shore Credit Union (now Blueshore Financial) was a four-panel rant, outside the Val d’Isere Restaurant (now 21 Steps) a panel featured psychedelically splattered trees, a visiting family from Seattle created a panoramic mountain scene, a local 5-year-old enlisted her family to help paint tulips, and artist Matthew Bankert entitled his piece “Post-Apocalyptic Corn.” By September, it was estimated that over 400 people had worked on the panels. A panel of judges awarded top prizes to Melisa Hardy, for her creation “Woman and a Cat,” and Lauren Collins (Children Under 12) for “Horses and Picket Fence.”

The Keg Lot Hole as it stood in March 1994. Whistler Question Collection, Bonny Makarewicz, 1994.

Construction on the Keg Lot restarted in April 1994 and by the next year there was no longer a large hold. The Whistler Village Centre Holiday Inn held a soft opening in March 1995, with the Hard Rock Cafe (in the space now occupied by Earls) and a bowling alley expected to follow later that year.

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Singing Through Whistler’s History

Posted on April 2, 2019 | 1 comment

For this week, I decided to write about something that has always defined Whistler for me.  No, not skiing, but choir!

I first came to Whistler with my high school choir for the 2010 Whistler Music Festival, and returned again in 2013.  I joined the Whistler Singers when I came to town last September, and we received a donation at the museum of concert programs, membership lists and song listings from a choir member several months later.  With all this in mind, I set to work scouring the archives for anything that could help construct a history of choirs in Whistler.

The Whistler Singers under the direction of Molly Boyd.  Whistler Question Collection.

The earliest reference found was a photograph of the Myrtle Philip School Choir in the December 20, 1978 edition of The Whistler Question.  As the school had only opened in 1976, this shows that musical education was available from the very early years.

Another Question photo, dating from 1979, shows a group of young vocalists referred to as the “Community Club Christmas Carol singers.”  Various BC choirs gave performances in Whistler in the 1980s, including the Squamish Youth Chorale, a Vancouver a capella group Vox Humana, and the Kildala choir from Kitimat.

Whistler’s first adult choir – the Whistler Singers – began in 1982 with just nine people.  It may have started small, but the members’ shared passion for music would carry them on to become Whistler’s longest-running community arts group.  Welcoming “anyone aged 13 to 113,” it regularly performs at Remembrance Day and Christmas Eve carol services and performs an annual spring concert.

It was an Easter sunrise service without sunshine, but that didn’t stop approximately 80 people from attending the special 7 am service Sunday morning on the shores of Lost Lake. Molly Boyd, playing the organ, led the Whistler Singers who also turned out in full force.  Whistler Question Collection.

In April 2003, the Whistler Singers – now 45 strong – released its debut CD, Ascend.  The album included Canadian classics, folk anthems, traditional scores, and songs in Hungarian, Welsh, Japanese, Korean and Swahili.  Juno-award-winning sound engineer Don Harder lent a hand with the recording and local photographer Leanna Rathkelly designed the album’s cover.  This milestone was celebrated with a release party at the Maury Young Millennium Place (now the Maury Young Arts Centre).

The Whistler Children’s Chorus is another time-honoured staple of the Whistler musical scene.  This group began in 1991 when a Vancouver orchestra performing Noye’s Fludde, an operatic version of the story of Noah’s Ark, sought a children’s choir to sing with them.  Whistler Singers director Molly Boyd rose to the occasion and assembled a group of youngsters aged six and up.  The following year it formally became known as the Whistler Children’s Chorus.  In addition to regularly yearly concerts (including Remembrance Day and Christmas Eve services with the Whistler Singers), the Chorus has performed in Ottawa for the 2002 Canada Day and at events leading up to and including the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (they got very good at singing O Canada!).

The Whistler Children’s Chorus performing Hakuna Matata, 1995 Photo courtesy Whistler Childrens Chorus

Another children’s choir, the Moving Chords Youth Showchoir, was also active in Whistler in the 1990s.  Information about this group has proved hard to find, but it performed at Our Lady of the Mountain Catholic Church in the summers of 1998 and 1999.  A thank you card from the choir directors to their sponsor, the Whistler Community Arts Council, can be found in the museum’s collection.

Since the turn of the millennium, Whistler has drawn in musical talent from around the world.  Choirs and small vocal ensembles from outside Canada that performed here in the early 2000s included the Cwmback and Dunvant Male Choirs from Wales, the Dursley Male Voice Choir from Gloucestershire, the British quartet Cantabile and Huun Huur-Tu, throat singers from the state of Tuva in Siberia.

Wherever you are from, Whistler is sure to bring a little music to your life.

Holly Peterson is the archival assistant at the Whistler Museum and Archives.  She is here on a Young Canada Works contract after completing the Museum Management and Curatorship program at Fleming College (Peterborough, Ontario).

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