"It was small, intimate, and Atom Egoyan was wandering around."
I was at a party with a mouth full of eggnog, describing how the Whistler Film Fest compared to Vancouver's. Having only participated in the latter, and casually at that, I had zero expectations before arriving in Whistler on the 3rd of December.
Whistler Film Festival Awards Brunch - December 5, 2010
Being a Vancouverite of the non-skiing variety, half the novelty of the film fest was simply being in Whistler in the snow and -10 Celsius temperatures, drinking rum & eggnog lattes, cozying up next to fireplaces, and enjoying the Christmasy atmosphere of it all. Not that seeing Die Mannequin for the Hard Core Logo II afterparty was anybody's idea of Christmas, but hey, I'm not complaining.
We only managed to see three films: the hard-to-swallow-but-you-have-to-see-it The Whistleblower; the light-hearted geek-fest of The People vs. George Lucas; and the heart-breaking beauty that is Marwencol. They were all excellent for completely different reasons.
Marwencol, for me, was the most memorable and perhaps even left the bigger emotional impact:
Following Marwencol and before driving home, we bit the bullet and splurged on an incredible meal at Araxi Restaurant. It seemed such a fitting end to the weekend. For those who were following Hell's Kitchen last year, Araxi Restaurant was where the winning chef would work. I don't think he's there anymore, but it didn't matter. The food, service, and atmosphere confirmed to me why they're consistently rated amongst the top restaurants in BC.
Seared Albacore Tuna
A variety of BC oysters
Sunday evening is apparently a quiet time for Araxi!
Baby gem and romaine lettuce salad
Local onion veloute with tapenade and a crispy oyster
Fraser Valley free range chicken
Buffalo ricotta and truffle gnocchi... I even got an extra gram of fresh black truffle!
When I was 6 years old, Vancouver hosted Expo 86. A great deal of monumental structures were built that year which includes Canada Place, Science World, and the Skytrain system. However, one lesser-recognized addition was the inukshuk statue which currently stands at the southern end of English Bay Beach. The inukshuk was a gift from the Inuit of Canada's arctic territories to Vancouver.
The inukshuk at English Bay
People always come up with different interpretations for what inukshuks are. When I was in grade 4 studying the Inuit, I was taught two things about inukshuks: that they were traditionally built as place markers on the vast and barren tundra, and that they were somehow used to herd caribou. Despite their traditional uses, these human-like stone statues are widely recognized as symbols of Canada's Inuit culture.
In 2003 when Vancouver won the bid to host the 2010 winter Olympics, a contest was held to design the official logo. The winner's design was a colourful interpretation of an inukshuk, inspired by the one at English Bay.
The winning entry initially caused a huge controversy because people thought that the inukshuk design looked too amateurish. Others complained that it had absolutely nothing to do with Vancouver's identity, but instead, its link to the Arctic continued to persist the cold and snowy Canadian stereotype. I think there was a 90% disapproval rating for the inukshuk design, but it was chosen anyway and was first shown at the 2006 Torino Olympics during the closing ceremonies. Despite the initial public disapproval, I think Canadians have warmed up it (no pun intended). I know I have!
This past summer when I visited Whistler, I took the gondola up to the top of the mountain. As we neared the top, I noticed that a new inukshuk had been built, obviously a replica of the logo. Although inukshuks aren't from this part of Canada, that inukshuk at the peak of Whistler seemed appropriately monumental, greeting visitors in anticipation of the upcoming 2010 Olympics. All I know is that one day in the not-too-distant future, I'll be watching that very inukshuk and the mountainous panorama behind it on TV.
