The February lull that usually follows the excitement of Jasper in January is not likely to come this year, with Tourism Jasper and Parks Canada offering up a plethora of events to attract visitors to Jasper National Park this Family Day Weekend.
“There’s a big emphasis on Family Day this year,” said Nancy Gordy, media and public relations specialist for Tourism Jasper. “With Jasper in January ending we want to focus our efforts on Family Day to keep people coming to town.
“We’re hoping to see lots of people from Calgary and Edmonton making the trip for the long weekend.”
To get people through the park gates, numerous businesses are offering deals on experiences—like sleigh rides and ice walks—as well as hotel stays.
Parks Canada and Marmot Basin have also jumped on board, with Marmot offering kids 17 and under 50 per cent off on two and three day lift tickets over the weekend, and Parks hosting numerous events at the new Marmot Meadows Winter Hub.
“Family Day ties into what we’ve been trying to do all winter long,” said Gloria Keyes-Brady, JNP’s interpretation and information centre coordinator. “We’re trying to make winter a more fun and accessible time for all types of visitors to enjoy themselves.”
As well as its regular programming at Marmot Meadows, Parks is also hosting a couple of additional activities just for Family Day Weekend. On Saturday, Feb. 13, it’s partnering with FreeWheel Cycle to offer free fat bike demos from 12 noon until 3 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 14, it has partnered with Wild Current Outfitters to offer a learn to cook program, where participants will cook over the open fire, as well as on a backcountry campstove.
Parks will have an interpreter at Marmot Meadows on Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday, as well in the afternoon on Monday.
“One of the things that has been quite popular is the dark sky snowshoe,” said Keyes-Brady.
“Everyone’s on the snowshoes and they’re just out there talking about the nighttime and ideally there’s constellations and stars, and there’s the moon and the wildlife and it’s all kind of fun being out there in the dark.”
The dark sky snowshoe takes place Saturday and Sunday nights from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. (For a full schedule of events taking place at Marmot Meadows, check out page 7.)
Other weekend activities include daily snowshoe adventures with Walks n’ Talks Jasper, discounted sleigh rides at Pyramid Lake for kids six to 16 years of age on Family Day Monday and discounted ice walks in Maligne Canyon with SunDog Tours.
“There’s lots of winter activities on special,” said Nancy Gordy, “and things are booking up.”
For a full list of Family Day Weekend events, visit www.jasper.travel/family.
Nicole Veerman
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