Check out Whistler Canada Olympic House community events and Nation Houses

There’s no better place to celebrate the 2010 Winter Games than at the Whistler Canada Olympic House at the Whistler Public Library thanks to a variety of exciting community events complete with pancakes and entertainment.

Experience Whistler Canada Olympic House every Saturday in February from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for community pancake breakfasts. The public is also invited to celebrate the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 28 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

With the exception of community events, access to Whistler Canada Olympic House is primarily by accreditation or invitation. It serves as a meeting place for Canadian Olympic athletes and their family and friends, international dignitaries, government officials and other guests.

The world has also arrived in Whistler and residents can experience a variety of different countries without leaving town.

Visitors and locals can check out three of the nation houses in Whistler - House of Switzerland at the Mountain Club restaurant, Austria Passive House and the Norwegian Church’s Sjomannskirken at Millennium Place.

At the Austria Passive House, sample Austrian food, beer and other beverages as well as mingle with athletes and dignitaries every day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The House of Switzerland is open to the public every day through the Games. Special events are planned throughout the Games period, with demonstrations by Lindt chocolate makers, samples of cheese and other Swiss foods, and a visit from Globi, the Mickey Mouse of Switzerland.

Norway’s Sjomannskirken is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the rest of the Games. The traditional program is to offer Norwegians a home away from home with waffles, coffee and Norwegian newspapers and TV. Two Christian church services will also be held during the Games.

Local artist will be live painting in the Village throughout the Games

It was the chance for a weekend get-a-way spot that spurred Florence Petersen and four friends to purchase a small cabin on Alta Lake, in the mid 1950s. Her quiet spot has since turned into an international destination and Petersen couldn’t be happier.

“It is remarkable that we are hosting the Olympics. I remember when they thought of it in the 1960s. At first I thought they were nuts because there were no roads but their vision was way ahead of what the others were thinking,” Petersen said.

Nobody in Whistler knows more about the resort’s past and its journey to today than Petersen. It only takes a few moments with Petersen to realize that she is a veritable fountain of local history, lore and legends.

Peterson founded the Whistler Museum and Archives Society and has authored books on Whistler’s past.

Peterson has her own fascinating story to tell, too. She was a member of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey team in 1956, travelling to Melbourne, Australia as an ambassador.

She would be one of Whistler’s most senior Olympians, except for the fact that women didn’t get to compete in Olympic field hockey until 1980 in Moscow.

“I feel that it’s remarkable that all of this has happened in my lifetime and the Whistler Museum is a great place to learn about Whistler’s history during the Games,” Petersen said.

Florence and her husband, Andy Petersen will be at the Whistler Museum as part of the Fireside Chats program on Thursday February 16 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for a night of local history, storytelling, pictures and artifacts. Visit whistlermuseum.com.

Do what comes natural

While the nature of the Olympic Winter Games is primarily about excellence on snow and ice, this year we get to celebrate the excellence of Whistler’s nature through the United Nations 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, the other 2010 celebration.

Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on.

The “nature” of Whistler is not just the stunning Coast Range ecosystems, it’s also the natural commitment of Whistler’s citizens to understand that the ongoing success of this place is vitally supported by an ongoing commitment to biodiversity.

In Whistler, one of our pre-Games legacies is our commitment to protecting and enhancing the value and connection our resort community, which is enjoyed by our 10,000 citizens and over two million guests.

“Whistler’s residents and guests are here primarily because of the nature of this place,” said Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed at a joint Resort Municipality of Whistler, IOC, VANOC and United Nations press conference yesterday.

“This is why one of the key planning decisions Whistler made from its outset has been to limit the impact of development on our natural environment.”

While we can’t deny building a resort community and hosting the Games has not impacted Whistler’s biodiversity, we have worked hard to minimize the net impact.

“Biodiversity and tourism are so integrated, they affect each other in a way that can make or break tourism economies,” said Jamie Webbe, Program Officer with the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity.

“Indigenous people have been on the land for thousands of years and they are used to dealing with unusual circumstances… the fluctuations of or ecosystem health and well being,”

Check out the Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre (slcc.ca) to see how First Nations of this region are working with the RMOW and other regional partners to integrate their cultural knowledge of biodiversity into our resort community.

Share your innovative stories of life during the Games in Whistler at kdamaskie@whistler.ca

Biodiversity Matters in Whistler
Whistler commits to 2010 Biodiversity Challenge

 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations in order to halt or significantly stop the rate at which the world is losing its biodiversity (or biological diversity). Whistler has responded to this call by initiating its own challenge, the Whistler 2010 Biodiversity Challenge that will roll out this year.

It began today, with a press conference at the Whistler Media Centre, with the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the VANOC.

The health of an ecosystem is measured in terms of its biodiversity, and biodiversity is essential for human health and survival. As a destination resort, Whistler is aware that halting or stopping the loss of biodiversity is important to not only the locals but also the two million people who visit every year. People come here for the natural beauty and recreational opportunities of the Coast Mountains.

Whistler as a community is a place of action. In order to help stop the loss of biodiversity, Whistler has expanded its boundaries, not to develop, but to effectively contain development and restrict sprawl, has catalogued 2100 species through the Whistler Biodiversity Project, developed a Protected Areas Network strategy, and hosts an annual event called Bioblitz - a 24 hour race against the clock to count as many species as possible. Cheakamus Crossing (the Athletes’ Village) is built on a remediated brownfield and was moved inside municipal boundaries to prevent sprawl.

More importantly, what will this community do moving forward? As a part of the challenge, Whistler will announce a high profile initiative that will permanently protect a key habitat area, and will be challenging partners in the Sea to Sky corridor to come together and ensure that habitat is protected and biodiversity is celebrated.

You can learn more about Whistler’s commitment to the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity by visiting public displays opening Sunday (Feb. 14) at: The Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre, The Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler Mountain, RMOW Hall, Whistler Canada Olympic House and at the Lost Lake Warming Hut.

Really, what matters is what we all decide to do. Make this the year you help stop the loss of global biodiversity right here at home.

Checkpoint in operation daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Yesterday was the first day of operations for the Sea to Sky Checkpoint. Thanks to all Sea to Sky travellers for planning ahead and knowing before they go. The Sea to Sky Checkpoint is a traffic management tool that aims to provide easy access to those with confirmed parking. The checkpoint is in effect from Feb 11-28 from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily.