A huge milestone is set to happen for Whistler Pride and Ski Festival in 2017. It will be their 25th Anniversary, and it will boast a big celebration. People who attend Whistler Pride come from 26 countries and most of them are there to enjoy the stellar skiing and snowboarding slopes. Whistler receives over 10 meters of annual snowfall and has 3,308 hectares of slopes to explore.

GayCalgary checked in with Dean Nelson of Whistler Pride about the upcoming event. "We are really excited for our big 25th. We have some amazing headline artists coming in to help celebrate, including award winning singer/songwriter Kim Kuzma, comedian extraordinaire Pam Ann (aka Caroline Reid), uber sexy and talented Berlin DJ/producer Micky Friedmann,  and one of the top five house producers in the world and international superstar DJ duo The Cube Guys.  Our mayor is really excited for our milestone and will be out at more of our events, and the whole community is ready to host us for this silver anniversary, especially in light of some of the craziness to our neighbours in the South."

There have been a lot of transformations since the start of Whistler Pride 25 years ago. "When Gay Ski Week first started, it was more of a fun social with a couple avid gay skiers. Then when the mood in Colorado become less tolerant of the gays, as well as the height of the AIDS crisis, Altitude (former name of Gay Ski Week) became one of the signature circuit parties in the mountains. Altitude was focused more on the party scene and skiing was a bit more in the back seat. In 2006, when Altitude transformed into WinterPRIDE, we began our journey of turning the week from an event more into a festival, with a step up in the ski experience. The festival has matured, as have many of our guests, where the priority is on skiing, real connections and earlier night events, including exceptional dining experiences. We still have circuit elements, which has been focused on the final weekend with our two signature dance events: Furrocious and Snowball."

There have been some major milestones that past events have introduced, where its legacies have continued to impact the LGBTQ community outside of Whistler. "Whistler Pride is the first festival in Olympic history to straddle the Olympics and Paralympics. We were also the founders of the Pride House, and made a significant contribution to the public awareness of homophobia in sports and the Olympics. We were part of the movement that advocated to the IOC to update Principle 6 to including non-discrimination inclusion based on gender and sexual orientation, which was adopted in December, 2016."

While years prior they had a lot more smaller events throughout Whistler designed for different tastes, this year they have adjusted some of the smaller events, and worked to make the main events each night more inclusive.

Whistler Pride is also using more of a venue called the CABN, located across from the Aava Whistler. "We had worked with the hotel over the last couple years discussing the possibilities of the hotel taking over the old White Spot restaurant space and converting it into the hotel’s special event venue for groups to be able to do events. Last year it became a reality and we were the first group to use the space. It was a glowing success and we had many compliments. We are so excited to be back in the space, and do even more programming throughout the entire week."

This year, seven events will occur in the CABN, most of them being the Apres Ski earlier in the week. Also, they will introduce on Monday, January 23rd a Cards Against Humanity® night which should be a blast. Whistler Pride has it listed as "a party game for horrible people". Unlike most of the party games you’ve played before, Cards Against Humanity® is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends." I have been playing this game for over a year and it just keeps getting funnier. The event will be hosted by Ryan Steele and played in groups. A DJ will play music between the rounds.

The funniest night of the week is Wednesday, when Pam Ann, the iconic international celebrity airhostess, will perform. The Pam Ann character is the alter-ego of Caroline Reid, an Australian comedian, writer and producer. Watch for our interview with her before Whistler Pride.

On Thursday night is the infamous Splash Pool Party with DJ Pornstar. This event is at the Meadow Park Sports Centre, a short distance from Whistler Village, so a shuttle service will be leaving every 30 minutes from Aava Hotel. The pool party is pretty much the best event in Whistler Pride to relax, chat with people at pool side, hang out in a hot tub, and enjoy drinks served by celebrity bartender Ryan Steele. Do all of that while wearing your swimwear and see everyone else doing the same.

Friday night is the Furrocious Military Ball at the Whistler Conference Centre. Dress up in as little as you want in your favourite uniform or sports wear. DJ Headliner is DJ Mickey Friedmann from Berlin. This event is powered by SCRUFF so you know that lots of scruffy men will be in attendance.

Whistler Pride will also have nearby and local talent get some great DJ’ing spots, giving them more exposure to our international audience. Local DJ’s Del Stamp and Nick Bertossi will be playing at both Apre T-Dances and DJ Bret Law, from Seattle, will be the opening DJ for the Snowball dance.

Saturday evening is the Snowball 25 main event with DJs the Cube Guys, of Sleeping Giant Music. The duo from are from Milan, Italy and their mixes are on all the international charts. They will be making their first Western Canada debut at Whistler Pride. The Snowball dance has a huge dance floor with the best lighting effects we have ever seen at a gay pride dance. Unlike a lot of other dances – where close to half the people are there to socialize – the Apres Ski, which takes place hours before the dance, allows everyone to get their socializing done so later in the evening everyone can just enjoy dancing. Doors open at 10pm and the dance floor opens at 11pm, ending at 4am, so you have close to five hours’ worth of dancing.

Finding accommodations might be a little tight if you are making plans to attend Whistler Pride close to when the event is happening. "We anticipate that most people have booked their accommodations already by the time this article comes out. For people that have been fence-sitters and are just making up their minds now, there are still a few rooms available through the Festival’s ticket centre at Wantickets. You could also look at alternate accommodation choices such as Riverside Resort by Parkbridge Camping http://www.parkbridge.com/en-ca/rv-cottages/riverside-resort or Whistler Hostel http://www.hihostels.ca/westerncanada/331/HI-Whistler/index.hostel. Also AirB&B and calling 1.866.787.1966 – our official central reservations – as they may have some last minute cancellations that come."

You can stay in Pemberton, which is about half an hour to 40 minutes away from Whistler. You could also try Squamish, which is less than an hour’s drive away from the village. When this article was written, rooms were available in both towns starting at $70 per night, where Whistler was showing at over 95 per cent booked. Taxi services are available for those who don’t want to drink and drive and they will go to Pemberton or Squamish. Costs vary so contact them in advance, but it looks like you can do it for less than $100 per trip.

If you are unable to do the event this year Dean adds, "After saying all that... we would recommend your readers to book their accommodation needs by August 30th, 2017, where they can save up to 50 per cent off their accommodation packages. When we announced our headline talent, Pam Ann, back in the spring, many of our guests did just this and got some wicked deals. Most hotels will let you cancel up to 30 days prior to arrival without penalty, so it is always good to lock-in early...  and always buy travel medical and travel cancellation/interruption insurance. [It’s] worth the few extra dollars for added peace of mind."

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Contributor Steve Polyak |

Locale British Columbia | Whistler |

Topic Gay Pride | Ski and Snowboard | Travel | Whistler Pride |

Photo Gallery Travel |Whistler |