One of the great things about the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival is the incredibly diverse entertainment options available to Whistler locals and visitors.
Chevrolet brought with them a test drive program that allowed anyone with a valid driver's licence the opportunity to test drive the hottest vehicles in their 2011 lineup, and On Scene was there to check it out.
So- will it be the Silverado or the Camaro?
Mike Berard interviews the Canadian Halfpipe Ski Team after the recent announcement that the sport will be included in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Whistler is known for snow, snowsport, and mountain culture. But fashion? Why not!
One of the signature events of the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival, Fashion Exposed takes place on the final Friday of the festival.
This year's event celebrated 6 years of fashion, form and function in a show purported to be the West Coast's most original fashion show. This show is a mash up of the best kind, bringing local designers and local musicians to a large stage. The models? Whistler locals amping up the runway with the energy that only locals could bring.
Presenting brands included Obey, Bench, EMU, Sitka, Voleurz, Westbeach, LSpace by Monica Wise, Gentle Fawn, and Fredrick's of Hollywood.
The most interesting part of the show? Though the male attendees in the audience may answer "The body painted chick," or "The swimsuit show," many would argue that it was the music.
Vancouver hipster band Bend Sinister provided the impressive soundtrack for the evening, staying true to their somewhat loud and progressive-indie rock selves.
The current line-up includes bassist Joel Myers, drummer Jason Dana, and guitarists Joseph Blood and Henry Alcock-White.
Check out their website for more information about upcoming shows.
The final Saturday of TWSSF had a packed crowd of almost 20,000 excited spectators take in the Big Air.
The crowd was entertained with some big air and some big spills as the talent roster of the event urged each and every athlete to really go for it, or miss their chance at the big prizes to be won.
In the end, Bobby Brown of the USA walking away with a brand new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.
The below video documents Melissa Janke of Chevrolet On Scene posing as the Easter Bunny for the Slush Cup at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard festival. Why an Easter bunny? Well, it was Easter weekend of course.
Distracted by flapping ears and the trail of easter eggs she left behind, Melissa's first attempt at pond-skimming resulted in a pretty cold bunny.
Enjoy!
A new addition to the cultural programming at TWSSF, Intersection fills a void that, surprisingly enough, has yet to be filled: action sport filmmaking.
The crews had seven days to shoot, edit, and produce a 5-7 minute extreme sports short film.
As with the other cultural events at the festival, this competition has a specific set of rules that must be followed to avoid disqualification. With Intersection, the following rules had to be obeyed:
Six film crews were chosen to take on this never before seen challenge, and received $1000 for their participation.
The film crews were largely based out of Whistler or the surrounding area, with the exception of Toy Soldier Productions from Montana.
Participating teams included:
Each of the participants produced incredible films with a production quality far surpassing expectations given the seven-day time limit.
In the end, local favourite Voleurz walked away with Best of Show and a $15,000 paycheck in hand.
The World Ski and Snowboard Festival is and always has been about putting fun first. This year, the fruity beverage maker Palm Bay sponsored a new event that took fun to a whole other level. Imagine a big pond of murky, ice-cold water, a mountain full of costumed, celebrating maniacs, and the hottest, sunniest, busiest day in April. The result was pandemonium. Check the photos and videos for evidence, and be sure to take special notice of Chevy on Scene's very own Melissa Janke, dressed as the Easter Bunny. She did pretty well for her first pond-skimming.
WSSF and Palm Bay, PLEASE bring back the Slush Cup next year. It just might be the most fun event in the history of springtime ski hills.
With the 2011 ski season being the second snowiest on record for Whistler Blackomb, the conditions on the hill have been incredible.
The combination of ski conditions, events, and beautiful weather has made this festival one that couldn't be missed.
The World Skiing Invitational has seen its share of ups and downs throughout the years. It started as a legitimate ping on the radar for the world's A-list skiers. Tanner Hall, Jon Olsson, the New Canadian Air force; the list of skiers that have graced the April transitions of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains is long. But at some point, other competitions like the Jon Olsson Invitational started to steal the WSI's thunder (and athletes). Lured by big prize money overseas, WSSF festival goers missed the skiers who chased it. They were sad days. And they are no longer.
Yesterday, the WSI brought back the slopestyle format in spectacular fashion. The A-list of skiing was in attendance, from the legendary Simon Dumont, to Canada's own Charles Gagnier, to the current king of the skiing world, Bobby Brown. The level of skiing to hit Blackcomb's Highest Level terrain park was of the kind usually reserved for events like the X-Games. Due to the fact that the event was last on the tour of the AFP World Championships, and that the possibility of Slopestyle being accepted into the Olympics for 2014, the best in the world threw down hard for the spectators in attendance.
Huge double corked spins and flips combined with precise and impeccable rail/box slides is what Slopestyle is all about. It's meant to show the diversity of the athletes, and Whistler Blackcomb made sure the course was worthy of the WSI of yesteryear. Bobby Brown took the win for the men, securing his overall title of the AFP, and completing a 2-year domination of the sport. This man is singlehandedly pushing the sport forward.
On the women's side, Kaya Turski continues to pull in gold medals, and also takes home the overall title.
Say it loud, people; WSI is back...and just might be better than it's ever been.
Slopestyle Results:
Men’s 1st Prize : $8500 | Bobby Brown
Men’s 2nd Prize : $4500 | Tom Wallisch
Men’s 3rd Prize : $2000 | Gus Kenworthy
Women’s 1st Prize : $6000 | Kaya Turski
Women’s 2nd Prize : $3000 | Ashley Battersby
Women’s 3rd Prize : $1000 | Anna Segal
