Category: Arts & Artists

Art and artists made in Whistler.

Boarder Bob: Whistler-based 1990’s Comic Strip

Boarder Bob: Whistler-based 1990’s Comic StripBoarder Bob: Whistler-based 1990’s Comic Strip

February 24, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Featured image: Boarder Bob comic illustrated by Olivier Roy, published in Snowboard Canada Magazine (starting somewhere in the mid-nineties!)

Olivier (Oli) Roy is “an artist snowboarder” who first came to Whistler “right after high school in 1990” to attend a Craig Kelly Camp. He moved here, three years later, after art college. 

Now, with a career of more than thirty years of ongoing coaching and creating under his belt, he holds a Lifetime Whistler Blackcomb Pass in one hand, a paintbrush in the other and continues to ride the endless canvas offered up by the mountain: artistically and athletically.

The early/mid-nineties has been referred to as the ‘golden age of snowboarding.’ It was fresh, edgy and still relegated to counter-culture status. In Whistler, it was synonymous with a lifestyle and a community. 

During this era, the Ontario-based Snowboard Canada Magazine was born. Broadening their output, they enlisted Roy, as he describes,  a “cool artist.” 

Thus, Boarder Bob – the character and comic strip – were born. Border Bob “moves to Whistler to pursue [his] dream of being a pro snowboarder, but he’s very delusional … ​​he thinks he’s a big shot…” But, he’s not. After a season or two,  “he gets a sidekick, Jed Shred.”  

Jed is a devoted fan: “he’s all like, ‘Oh, Boarder Bob, you’re so epic’. But, as is proven – through Bob’s trials, tribulations and failed attempts at ease and epicness – he is anything and everything, but. 

Roy collaborated with local Glenn Rogers – known for his comic panels in The Whistler Question (a former, local publication started in 1976) – to produce the strip. The two worked together for eight years (“if I remember correctly”, states Roy), producing the 8 panel, 2 row, half-page ‘Boarder Bob’ strip. Published four times a year, “we had a lot of fun” poking fun at the “life of snowboarding in Whistler and on the West Coast.” 

The stresses of balancing the desire to shred while staying fed, being able to board while needing to find literal board-ing to trying to be the bawler at the bar were all fodder for the two creative duos: Roy and Rogers, Bob and Jed. Moral quandaries were occasionally tackled through the ink of these stories: “should we risk everything to be in the shot?!” Arguably, Boarder Bob was 90% total fun, 10% tackling that ‘the stakes are real’.

Boarder Bob Comic. Illustrated by Olivier Roy, written by Glenn Rogers: featured in Snowboard Canada Magazine. The comic strip ran between 1995-2002 approximately.

The comic ran from about 1995 to 2002, or thereabouts. The pinpointing of specifics is about as precise as Bob’s technique, working more with the “ish” verb. However, when it comes to the technical hows of developing the strip, the collaborative process between Roy and Rogers was fine tuned. 

Rogers would usually come up with the story. Admittedly, Roy states “I was never good at writing the stories, I was more the artist and inker.” He would receive the script and then sketch it, all by hand, on an 11 x 17 piece of cardboard:

“I would pencil it and then use China ink [for] the black and white and use markers, like alcohol markers and a bit of watercolor.” It was all hand-lettered.  “And then I would send it by FedEx back to Snowboard Canada magazine. And I, I remember a few times where the FedEx guy would ring the bell and I would still be finishing … after an all nighter.” Each strip took between 10-20 hours. “It was a labour of love,” Roy reminisces. “I loved it.”

Boarder Bob eventually got abducted by aliens (I mean, why not?) – or this is insinuated, but never confirmed for the reader. “There’s a UFO and he disappears.”

Boarder Bob carved out a seminal space in the culture and history of snowboarding art, taking its place in the local legacy of slope-inspired comic strips. The Peak Bros ran from 1979-2002 (in The Whistler Answer and Whistler Review), poking fun at 80s ski culture, whereas Boarder Bob tackled the snowboarding shenanigans of the nineties. 

Roy continued, and continues, to flourish on and off the slopes: the line between his art and sport overlapping. 

He has illustrated for Snowboarder Magazine (the prominent US publication), been Whistler Blackcomb’s online illustrator, designed top sheets for such companies as Prior, Luxury and Option Snowboards; been sent to Ottawa as a Whistler Art Ambassador in 2010 for Canada Day and continues to regularly produce art that showcases the mountains and its vibrant culture. 

The born-in-Montréal skateboarding kid who first came out to join Craig Kelly’s summer camps on the glacier, to then gain accolades as a competitive snowboarder in “half pipe contests, some slope styles, some boarder cross” to now working for Whistler Blackcomb’s Alpine Program and holding the title of being Whistler Valley Snowboard Club’s longest-running coach, working with the program since its inception almost 30 years ago – has literally drawn together the lines of on and off-mountain creativity. 


Boarder Bob Comic. Illustrated by Olivier Roy, written by Glenn Rogers: featured in Snowboard Canada Magazine. The comic strip highlighted and poked fun at the Whistler snowboarding scene of the nienties.
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Interpreting WhistlerInterpreting Whistler

November 12, 2025 museumwhistlermuseumwhistler 0 Comments

When traveling to a new place, or even exploring your own town, interpretive panels are a great way to learn about local history, wildlife, and the natural environment. These little pop-ups of information can feel a bit like VH1’s Pop-Up Video from the 2000s, which offered quick, engaging insights that added depth and context to a song or music video, much like how interpretive panels help you better understand your surroundings or see a familiar place in a new light.

Over the Whistler Museum’s 38-year history, we’ve had the opportunity to help develop many of the interpretive panels throughout the Whistler Valley. Most recently, we’ve been involved in the creation of the panels that have appeared along the Valley Trail network and throughout the Village starting in 2018, in collaboration with the Resort Municipality of Whistler. These installations have become a wonderful way to share Whistler’s stories in the very places where they unfolded, such as the history panels in Rainbow Park.

Interpretive panel located along the cultural connecter.

Beyond traditional panels, newer forms of interpretation have used technology to share stories in different ways. A great example is the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre’s Cultural Journey, a self-guided audio tour and series of kiosks along the Sea to Sky Highway. Developed in 2010, it weaves together oral histories, traditional place names, and cultural knowledge from the Líl̓wat Nation and the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh Nation. By pairing the region’s views with first-hand stories, it turns the drive between Squamish and Whistler into a richer cultural experience. More information about the tour can be found here: https://slcc.ca/cultural-journey/

Whistler’s first interpretive panels date back to 1987. Created by accomplished artist Isobel MacLaurin for the Whistler Rotary Club, these early works depicted Whistler’s landscapes, flora, and fauna. While simple in scope, mostly identifying local species, they set the foundation for what would become a long tradition of place-based interpretation in the valley.

Isobel and her husband Don MacLaurin moved to Whistler in 1961. Don, a forester and educator at BCIT, was instrumental in preserving several of Whistler’s cherished recreational areas, including Lost Lake Park. When timber licenses in the area were set to expire, developers were poised to move in. Recognizing its ecological and community value, Don worked with BC Parks to ensure the area was protected for public use, a vision that continues to benefit residents and visitors today.

One of Isobel’s hand painted signs on the Riparian trail in the Whistler Interpretive forest. 

Don also helped establish the Whistler Interpretive Forest (WIF) in the Cheakamus area during the late 1980s and 1990s. With Isobel’s distinctive artwork, the pair developed and installed interpretive signage throughout the forest. Some of these original hand-painted panels can still be found along the Riparian Trail, which was later updated and expanded with support from the Whistler Rotary Club in 2018.

At the Whistler Museum, we continue to enjoy contributing to interpretive panels throughout the valley. Each panel is a chance to build on the work started by the MacLaurins and the Rotary Club, helping residents and visitors alike deepen their understanding of this place and the stories that shape it.

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The Sound of “Music ’91”The Sound of “Music ’91”

September 10, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

From May to September 1991, towns and cities across British Columbia hosted large-scale performances with acts such as Rita MacNeil, Colin James, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Joan Baez, John Denver and more drawing crowds around the province. These performances were all part of Music ’91 RoadShow weekends, one of which took place on Blackcomb Mountain in July.

From July 12 to 14, 1991, the mainstage on Blackcomb Mountain next to the Rendezvous Lodge saw headling performances by Linda Ronstadt, Smokey Robinson and Natalie Cole, and Boz Scaggs. The mainstage, however, was just one part of the Music ’91 RoadShow. RoadShows also included two BC Tel Centennial Community ShowCase stages featuring amateur and lesser-known acts, Musicians’ Workshops with some of the performers, merchandise and food vendors, and the KidsOwn area, which included the DRUMASAURUS (a dinosaur made of drums), workshops, storytelling, face painting and a “Walk-On-Synthesizer.” RoadShow attendees could also take part in Blackcomb’s summer activities and go hiking, biking, or skiing on the glacier.

Boz Scaggs performs on the RoadShow mainstage on Blackcomb Mountain. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, Unknown Photographer, 1991.

Despite less than ideal weather, a ticket price that some people thought was too expensive ($36), and a few stopped chairlifts while downloading, Blackcomb Mountain named the event a success, with over 14,000 tickets sold to the three mainstage performances, and one Blackcomb spokesperson even said that “the RoadShow has given the mountain a number of new ideas about similar events in future summers.” Those who attended also praised the staff and management for their work hosting the event.

Todd & Laurence offer a Musicians’ Workshop after performing at one of the smaller stages. Audience members show off their Music ’91 merchandise. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, Unknown Photographer, 1991.

Music ’91 was not without controversies, both centred on the Whistler RoadShow and the program as a whole. Music ’91 was a tourism marketing initiative put on by the province that aimed to increase tourism and encourage residents to stay and spend money in BC instead of going across the border after the introduction of the GST at the beginning of the year. That spring, the Social Credit party leader and premier Bill Vander Zalm resigned amidst a conflict of interest controversy surrounding the sale of his Fantasy Gardens flower garden and theme park. Following this, some saw Music ’91 as an effort to gain support for the SoCred party in the upcoming election, though the program had been in development for quite a while.

The location of the Music ’91 RoadShow on Blackcomb Mountain also raised some questions. According to Whistler Mountain president Charles Young, the RoadShow was originally supposed to take place on Whistler Mountain not far from the gondola-accessed Roundhouse Lodge. However, as the mountain and Music ’91 were finalizing the details, Whistler Mountain switched its food-service taps from Pepsi to Coca Cola. As Pepsi was a sponsor of Music ’91, the venue was soon switched to Blackcomb Mountain, a move that was confirmed by Music ’91 executive vice-president James Conrad. Though Whistler Mountain was “surprised” at the change, Young told the Whistler Question that they did not regret switching brands as “Pepsi has never shown the initiative in working with us that it’s shown in working to take Music ’91 away from us.”

Mainstage audience members watched with umbrellas and ponchos. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, Unknown Photographer, 1991.

Across the province, Music ’91 was connected to around 700 summer concerts and festivals; co-produced additional events such as First Night on New Year’s Eve, the DuMaurier Jazz Festival, and the Labatt’s Canada Live concert series; sold about 129,000 tickets; and, according to the report of Auditor General George Morfitt, cost $26 million to put on, with $19 million coming from gaming profits. Some did not consider Music ’91 as a whole to be success, with questions about tendering and contracts, the use and costs of international contracts, and the increase in budget from the original estimate of $12 million.

In the provincial election that fall, the SoCred party won only seven seats, 40 fewer than they had held previously, and the NDP became the governing party of BC. In May 1992, the new NDP Tourism Minister Darlene Marzari stated that Music ’91 had been a failure in its goal of increasing tourism. In his report, Morfitt wrote that “The government did not effectively monitor or control the scope of the project” and recommended that “any future commitment of public money be preceded by an assessment of risk and a cost-benefit analysis” and “that any project have a clear definition of objectives and how those objectives will be achieved and assessed.”

The crowd on Whistler Mountain for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, Unknown Photographer.

Despite these criticisms, Blackcomb’s Music ’91 RoadShow seems to have been well received in Whistler. While it was certainly well advertised, the RoadShow was not, however, the only musical performances taking place in Whistler in 1991. In August, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performance on Whistler Mountain drew just over 5,00 attendees and both the Arts Council and the Whistler Centre for Business and the Arts had performances lined up throughout the year, including the Music in the Mountains concert series.

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Whistler’s Artistic OriginsWhistler’s Artistic Origins

March 12, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The 1980s was an exciting decade for arts and culture in Whistler. As this article first came out in Pique Newsmagazine on International Women’s Day (March 8), we wanted to highlight a few of the women who sparked the arts scene at this time.

Whistler was in its early stages of development, dominated by sports and a lively bar scene. There were some theatre groups, dances, and musicians, and events such as the Alta Lake Community Club’s Fall Fair, a fundraiser that featured local goods and crafts. The Squamish Arts Council, which was established in the early 1970s, had a column in the Whistler Question advertising their offerings. And there were many artists in the area, including Isobel MacLaurin – Whistler’s first professional artist.

Isobel MacLaurin taught workshops at the first Whistler Children’s Festival in 1983. Whistler Question Collection.

The community recently came together to celebrate the life of Isobel. A true ski bum, she was a strong advocate for the growth of arts in the community. Her artwork is seen across the valley through murals and trail signs, she inspired others to spark their own creativity, and she was involved in almost every artistic effort that came about throughout her life (Arts Whistler/Whistler Arts Council, the Whistler Singers, The Point Artists Run Centre, and more).

After moving to Whistler in 1979, textile artist Inge Nielsen became involved in the adult education craft workshops at Myrtle Philip School, as well as hosting her own knitting workshops at the Blackcomb Day Lodge. Inge also sold her own goods at the 1980 Fall Fair, and that same year, opened Whistler’s first dedicated local artisan store, “Inge’s Gift and Craft Store,” in the Clocktower building. It was not a regular souvenir shop; all items on display were created by artists within Whistler or around British Columbia. She continued workshop offerings once her shop was opened and became further involved in the arts once Whistler’s first arts council was created.

At an art exhibit showcasing the works of Roy and Olga Tomlinson, the couple present Inge Nielsen and Glenda Bartosh a stone lithograph to be the first artwork added to WCAC’s permanent collection. The event was sponsored by Inge’s Gifts and Crafts and was held at the Delta Mountain Inn. Whistler Question Collection, October 1982

In 1981, fresh out of journalism school, Glenda Bartosh became a reporter for the Question. A year later, she bought the newspaper and became one of the youngest publishers in Canada. That same year, Glenda and other community members started the Whistler Community Arts Council (WCAC), now known as Arts Whistler. Their goal was to fulfill local needs for more artsy events.

Tuesday night craft class, part of the Adult Education courses that were offered at Myrtle Philip School. Left to right: Inge Nielsen, Jenny Busdon, Ruth Howells, Marilyn Willoughby, and Kelly Fairhurst. Whistler Question Collection, 1979.

WCAC’s introductory event occurred in the summer of 1982. It was an art exhibit at the Blackcomb Lodge and featured seventeen local artists. According to Glenda, they received an overwhelmingly positive response that showed the need for this type of organization.

By the end of the decade, the arts council had established many programs that are still running today. Margaret Long led the first Whistler Children’s Festival. Joan Richoz and Tamsin Miller organized the first Performance Series (now Arts Whistler Live!). Gail Rybar organized the first Bizarre Bazaar (now the Arts Whistler Holiday Market).

At the close of the 1980s, our own Florence Petersen opened the Whistler Museum, and Anne Popma founded the Whistler Centre for Business and the Arts. This organization further grew the cultural sector in the following years. Thanks to foundations laid in the 1980s, Whistler’s arts scene continued to grow in many ways through the 1990s and continues to thrive today.

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