The 2010 Whistler Accessibility Blog (The WFTD Society)

Returning in 2010 after rave reviews from the 1st annual event, the Blank Slate Theatre Festival will mount 2 shows for 4 nights at the beautiful Squamish Lil'Wat Cultural Centre from September 1st-4th, 2010.   Festival attendees will have the option of attending the Canadian premiere of an edgy and existential comedy entitled "Almost an Evening" from legendary writer Ethan Coen or a quirky one woman show about an enthusiastic children's performer who gets knock up by accident in "The Big Oops".  Save the date and don't miss out on this year's shows!  All shows are fully accessible to the Mobility Restricted.

Be sure to call us up for your "Accessible Accommodations" section on the Right Hand Side "Links" Menu Options for this Whistler Festival.   We work in partnership with Tourism Whistler so you know your getting the best out there and at a good rate.  All of our profits go back into Supporting People with Disabilities throughout BC and Canada.   Call our reservation team at 1-888-933-9383.
 
Almost an Evening  by Ethan Coen
Squamish Lil'Wat Cultural Centre – Theatre – $20
Doors at 7pm – Show at 8pm
1 Act Play – No intermission

Synopsis - In "Almost an Evening" three short plays unsuccessfully tackle important questions.  In Waiting, someone waits somewhere for quite some time.  In Four Benches, a voyage to self-discovery takes a British intelligence agent to steam baths in New York and Texas, and to park benches in the U.S. and U.K.   In Debate, cosmic questions are taken up.   Not much is learned.
 
With their macabre humour and dark sense of irony, the Coen Brothers' films offer a distinctively skewed view of Americana, appropriating genres from screwball to noir to convey a bizarre world in which heinous things happen. A similarly twisted perspective-and a reference frame ranging from Beckett to Mamet-is applied in Ethan Coen's first solo work for the theatre, Almost an Evening, three short plays that swap planet U.S.A. for a more abstract universe in which philosophical, existential and metaphysical questions bounce around.
 
Directed by Sam Trounce
 
The Big Oops  by Brendan McLeod
Squamish Lil'Wat Cultural Centre – Longhouse – $20
Doors at 7pm – Show at 8pm
1 Act Play – No intermission
 
Synopsis – The Big Oops is an original one woman play centered on an upcoming children's entertainer, Sammi Sam, who lives to please and inspire everyone around her: the children she entertains, her long-term boyfriend Ben, and his affluent parents.  When she gets pregnant by accident, she and Ben must choose whether or not to have the child.  Part naïve children's show, part interpersonal drama, The Big Oops takes on contemporary social mores with abnormal humour and pathos.

Directed by: TJ Dawe
Starring: Cara Yeates 
 
Raves and Reviews from 2009's Festival:
 
"The Blank Slate troupe had me securely hooked on the upper lip.  This season I can hardly wait to be reeled in once again!" – Tom Thomson
 
"Blank Slate Theatre: Dynamic, Risky" - The Question Newspaper 
"The actors knocked the tough, funny play out of the park" – The Question Newspaper
 
"Interesting and edgy theatre in a beautiful venue at a reasonable price.  Bravo!" – Marlene Siemens
 
"The transformation from script to stage is brilliant and the added bonus of meeting the actors, writers and directors after the performance truly engaging. You will definitely want to be a part of this, as the festival develops into the jewel it will become." – Chris Quinlan

Be sure to visit the Blank Slate Theatre Festival website (www.blankslatetheatre.ca) for the latest updates!  Ticket Sales and Cast and Crew information contact The Squamish Lil"Wat Cultural Centre for more information about the Festival at SLCC.ca

Become a FAN on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Blank-Slate-Theatre-Festival-Whistler/130044807016493?ref=ts

The Whistler Museum Launches “Olympic Journey Exhibit”.

Is fully Accessible to the Mobility Restricted with an Access Ramp in the front and Accessible Washroom, and is Guide Dog Friendly. After being fully renovated, they launched their new exhibit "Whistler's Olympic Journey" where you can get your picture taken with an Olympic Torch!

The Museum is located behind the Whistler Public Library, for more information and parking locations please visit them at whistlermuseum.org

The Whistler Sliding Centre is now open for daily tours from 10 am to 5 pm please refer to their website for more information.

http://whistlerslidingcentre.com/

Also, note that the Sliding Centre is not very accessible to the Mobility Restricted…!

Snowboarding, alpine, cross-country skiing will be part of Games

By Alison Taylor, Pique Newsmagazine

It is not yet clear how Whistler could be involved in the Deaflympics that are coming to Vancouver in 2015 but the event is something town partners are interested in.

"Hosting such an event would be consistent with Whistler's sport tourism and all partners, including Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb, are interested in learning more, but with the 2010 Winter Games having just past there are only preliminary discussions at this time," said the municipality's senior communication officer Jessica Delaney.

Once known as the International Silent Games, the games date back to 1924 where the first summer games were held in Paris for deaf athletes.

The most recent name, the Deaflympics, was formally adopted in 2001.

Sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, the Deaflympics is the world's second oldest multiple sports games after the Olympics. There are 19 summer sports disciplines, from mountain biking to table tennis. Last year, in Chinese Taipei, the summer games brought together more than 4,000 deaf athletes and officials from 77 nations.

Like the Olympics and Paralympics, the winter games at the Deaflympics are on a much smaller scale with five sports disciplines: alpine skiing, cross country, curling, ice hockey and snowboarding.

Vancouver's Deaflympics will be the 18^th winter games, which are held every four years.

Salt Lake City hosted the last games, in 2007. Six-hundred athletes and officials participated. Next year the Deaflympics will be help in Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia.