Whistler (BC), Canada – The countdown to North America’s largest winter sports and music festival is officially on. From Apr. 12-21, the 18th Annual World Ski and Snowboard Festival will descend upon Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, bringing with it a smorgasbord of snow sports action, music, art and fashion.
Tickets to the Festival’s signature events, including the Olympus 72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown, the Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown and Intersection are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at The World Ski and Snowboard Festival E-store online but as previous years have demonstrated, they will not last for long.
The World Ski and Snowboard Festival is introducing some new events to the 2013 schedule including an encore presentation of the Olympus 72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown. The winner of the Filmmaker Showdown will be announced at the original screening on Apr. 16 and for some added suspense, The People’s Choice Award will be announced at the encore screening on Apr. 17.
Also new to the event line up for 2013 is The Beginning party, an all-night extravaganza of DJs, drinks, dancing and beautiful people to kick the Festival off in style. As always, The World Ski and Snowboard Festival’s ticketed events will be intertwined with an array of free sport, music and art affairs.
The Festival kicks off with the World Skiing Invitational (WSI) and the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) events, including the open Slopestyle competition in the Highest Level Terrain Park on Blackcomb Mountain and the Invitational Big Air at the base of Whistler Mountain. Both events are hugely challenging but the prestige of winning attracts some of the best skiers in the world. The AFP will also crown the 2012-2013 World Champions during this time period, a huge incentive for the athletes to really prove their worth and show the judges what they are made of.
Once the ski victors are crowned, it’s on to The Shred Show Presented by Monster Energy from Apr. 17 to 21. The Shred Show features Slopestyle, Big Hip, Boarderstyle and Mogul Duel snowboarding competitions, with the Slopestyle and Big Hip being TTR World Snowboard Tour 5-Star events.
All ski and snowboard events are free for spectators but on-hill events do require a valid Whistler Blackcomb lift ticket to access the mountain.
Arts and culture are another key component to The World Ski and Snowboard Festival, going hand in hand with the athletic competitions. Call for submissions for the Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown and State of the Art are currently open with application information available at www.wssf.com.
The State of the Art exhibit in the Whistler Conference Centre Grand Foyer requires no entry fee and will be open daily from noon to 6 p.m. for the duration of the Festival. State of the Art showcases the works of artists from far and wide who are inspired by life in a mountain town. There are no rules at State of the Art and sub-cultures and anti-movements are celebrated openly.
Located at the Main Stage in Skier’s Plaza at the base of Whistler Mountain, the Festival’s free Outdoor Concert Series will feature musical acts from 2:30-5:30 p.m. daily throughout the Festival. The full line up for the 2013 Outdoor Concert Series will be released soon.