Jasper in January is back for its 26th year.
Beginning Jan. 16, the festival will kick off with six events, including the second annual Arts on Ice soiree at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre, the Kokanee Kick-Off Party at the Whistle Stop Pub and brewery tours with the Jasper Brewing Co. There will also be live music at the De’d Dog Bar and Grill and the Atha-B, as well as blues dancing at 4 Peaks Nightclub.
The festival continues on until Feb. 1, with a number of new events, as well as old favourites.
This Saturday, Pyramid Lake will be transformed into a hive of activity for Winterstruck, a fun-filled day of dog sledding, bannock making, ice skating, snowshoeing and even a cabane à sucre.
There are also workshops taking place in town, with instructors teaching people to blues dance, oil paint and take landscape and portrait photography. And, if you hit the ski hill, you’ll also get a treat with Music at the Mountain: three hours of live music at Marmot Basin.
That evening, the options are endless: there’s the fourth annual Loud and Proud drag show at the Whistle Stop, bands at the Jasper Legion, Atha-B and De’d Dog, blues dancing at the Marmot Lodge and an outdoor concert at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
Sunday things pick up where they left off, with two more workshops and the second annual Winter Cross fat bike races at Centennial Park.
For a full list of events, check out page 2 of the Fitzhugh or check out www.jinj.ca.
To find out more about Arts on Ice, the Winter Pentathalon, Jasper Stories and the outdoor concert at JPL, check out our coverage below.
Jasper’s stories on display
Have you ever heard of the Tank: the notorious bike from the 1950s that could be used to transport a gaggle of kids across town? What about the parade for the Jasper curling team that used to pack the activity centre in days gone by?
Jasper is a town with a rich history and, as part of Jasper in January, that history will be on display Jan. 21, as locals share their stories at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives.
The event, named Jasper Stories, was bourn out of Laura Campbell’s work over the past 12 months, collecting anecdotes and stories from some long-memoried Jasperites.
Campbell, with the help of Marianne Garrah and David Baker, has taped interviews with Jasperites, who share some of their fondest memories of the town of old, and Jan. 21 they will show them off for everyone to see.
According to Baker, many of the tales are rich and surprising, and reveal the evolving character of the town.
“Jasper is not a place without characters, and Jasper is not a place without stories,” he said.
At the event, Museum Manager Andy Kilmach will compliment those stories with artifacts from the museum’s archives, giving tangibility to the memories.
“It’s one thing to see a pair of snowshoes, it’s another thing to see and hear the voice of the person who wore those snowshoes,” Baker said. “It’s bringing history to life.”
“Jasper’s stories are in the museum, and [hardly anybody] knows what’s in there. So Andy has made it a night to drag out all those things that may have been forgotten,” Garrah said. “It’s an opportunity for the museum to tell some stories from their basement.”
Garrah hinted at the appearance of a nearly century-old artifact from the Jasper Fire Brigade, as well as a unique story of firefighting in the 1920s. She also said some Jasperites will share their memories of the old Sunset Ice Cream Parlour.
As well as a venue to appreciate the stories already collected, Baker said the event is an invitation for Jasperites to add their own histories. Eventually, the plan is to create a documentary for the museum’s archives that will illuminate Jasper’s history.
“It’s building a collection that is a resource that will form what is a story of Jasper,” said Baker, who’s a local filmmaker. “As people we are storytellers, and we don’t live forever. And the hope is to get as many people as possible to come forward and tell any kind of story,” he said.
Garrah agreed, adding that she hopes that the stories they have already collected will inspire others to contribute.
“Maybe this little teaser on Jan. 21 of stories and some locals talking on camera and some stuff coming out of the basement and a glass of wine—maybe it will encourage some more stories.”
Trevor Nichols
[email protected]
Artists celebrate winter
Artists have found their place in the Jasper in January lineup with Arts on Ice, an interactive art show celebrating the winter season.
This is the event’s second year transforming the Walter’s Dining Room, in the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre, into a dynamic gallery, showcasing paintings, photography and paper lanterns created by local and regional artists, and providing a space for artists to work on their latest projects.
Melissa Woodcock, who has organized the event for the past two years, said this event, which pairs gourmet appetizers and martinis with art, is a huge success for Jasper’s arts community.
“It’s a really great combination of events, the culinary combined with the art, and to have the connection with Jasper in January—and to kick off the festival with the arts—is huge.”
As well as having static exhibits curated by Jasper artists Claude Boocock and Jessy Dion, the event will also include live painting by four local artists: Alan Butler, Jessy Dion, Satoko Naito (Rico) and Woodcock, herself.
“That’s a lot of fun for us,” she said, noting that although some people find it nerve-racking to have someone watching over their shoulder as they work, her years as an art teacher have cured her of that.
“Eighth graders are a lot more critical than my friends,” she joked. Plus, as she paints, spectators are often taken with her work and find themselves taking it home—a bonus for any artist.
Woodcock, who is now living in Canmore, is showing work inspired by Talbot Lake’s perfect skating conditions early in the winter.
Although she wasn’t here to enjoy gliding along the resin-like ice, she saw photos and videos taken by her friends and she was immediately inspired to capture the magic of that moment in paintings depicting skates on the clear blue ice.
Hanging alongside Woodcock’s paintings are black and white photographs, paper lanterns, landscape paintings, encaustic paintings and prints created by more than a dozen regional artists, spanning from Jasper to the Bow Valley and Edmonton.
Woodcock said that’s the biggest difference with this year’s event: there’s artists from outside the Jasper Artists Guild.
“This year we cast a broader net,” she said.
The show is paired with a martini bar and appetizers created by the culinary team from the Sawridge Inn and is meant for mingling and interacting with the artists.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
Pentathlon showcases best of winter sports
If you haven’t yet, it’s time to get off the couch and start training for the sixth annual Jasper Winter Pentathlon at Pyramid Lake.
There are only two weeks left to get into tip-top shape—and to perfect your award-winning costume—before the Jan. 31 event.
“This is a good continuation of the December Project,” said Jocelyn Nadeau, one of the event organizers, referring to the community-wide initiative that had Jasperites working out every day during the month of December. “It’s good motivation to train in January.”
The pentathlon includes five activities—biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, skating and running—and is modelled after the famous Pentathlon des Neiges in Quebec City, Nadeau’s hometown.
Nadeau organized Jasper’s first pentathlon with his partner Caroline Roy in 2010 and last year, for the first time, he competed as a solo athlete, taking the top spot as the fastest solo male after completing the course in one hour, 42 minutes and 28 seconds.
And this year, he said, he’ll be back to defend his title.
“This event kind of motivates me to diversify what I do and get out. It forces me to get on my skis and my snowshoes and out on the trails for a run.”
There are only a few hearty souls who take on the challenge alone: six men and one woman in 2014, while the rest of the racers join together to form a team of five athletes.
Those teams vary from Jasper’s toughest endurance athletes to families with young kids, as well as groups of friends who just want an excuse to put on a silly costume and breathe the fresh mountain air.
In the past six years, costumes have ranged from super hero leotards and capes to business attire, doctor’s scrubs and hockey jerseys.
The costumes are Jasper’s twist on a competitive pentathlon. It’s a way of making the event fun for everyone, no matter their fitness level, and it also provides an opportunity to hand out people’s choice awards.
During the event, bystanders are encouraged to vote for the team with the best costume, as well as best team spirit, and the winners, as determined by the crowd, receive prizes, just like the fastest athletes in the race.
And to make the event family friendly, there is also a kids pentathlon that takes place alongside the event.
“So while mom and dad are participating, they can put their kids with the pentathlon coordinator,” said Roy, noting that there are five kid-friendly obstacles planned to keep the little ones busy.
“We just want everyone to participate and have fun.”
Race details
The competition begins in the Jasper Activity Centre parking lot, where the bikers begin their 5.5 km ride up Pyramid Lake Road at 11 a.m. sharp.
After the ride, there is a 5 km cross-country ski that will take skiers twice around the lake. Snowshoeing is next, with one 2.5 km sprint around the lake. Then it’s 12 laps around the oval skating rink, before heading out for a 6 km run to the stables and back.
The fun event usually attracts upwards of 150 competitors.
Roy encourages teams and soloists to register in advance. That can be done by visiting Totem Ski Shop or by contacting the ACFA in Jasper at 780-852-7476 or by email at [email protected].
To learn more about the event, check out the Jasper Winter Pentathlon Hivernal Facebook page or the ACFA’s brand new website: www.acfajasper.wix.com/pentathlon.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
