We are very excited to announce that The Whistler Question: A Photographic History 1978 – 1985 will open Friday, September 15! To celebrate the opening of our latest exhibit and the completion of the Whistler Question Digitization Project (you can read more about that here) we would like to invite everyone to join us and special guests Paul Burrows and Glenda Bartosh for appetizers and drinks at the Whistler Museum.
Featuring photographs from the Whistler Question Collection, this new exhibit captures the town of Whistler during a time of transition and rapid change. Come and view the development of the resort and the growth of the community through nearly seven years worth of photos!
Just over a year ago we announced that we had begun digitizing negatives from The Whistler Question’s archival collection (read more here). Since then, the staff at the Whistler Museum has been busy cataloguing and scanning nearly 35,000 photographs from 1978 to 1985. As of today, we have reached the final stretch and are nearing the completion of this digitization project!
Just a few of the photos from the Whistler Question Collection.
The photographs were originally donated to the museum in 1991 and have gone through an extensive cataloguing and preservation process before they could be scanned and shared with the public. This digitization project has also been generously funded by the UBC Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.
As this project comes to a close, we want to celebrate these photos by sharing them with everyone, both online as they are uploaded to our photo-hosting website, SmugMug, as well as on display in the museum. We will be opening a new exhibit, The Whistler Question: A Photographic History 1978-1985, featuring a selection of some of our favourite photographs from the collection.
Every photo tells a story, though sometimes what that story is is not quite clear.
Speaking as the Collections Coordinator at the museum, assisting in the creation of this exhibit has been one of the highlights for me this summer. Coming to Whistler as a visual arts student from UBC, I have always had a strong interest in photographs and the stories that they tell. Being able to go through these pictures has given me the chance to get a glimpse of the unique culture Whistler had during the late 70s and 80s.
These snapshots of various people and happenings document Whistler during a time of rapid change. Events such as the construction of the Whistler Village and the opening of Blackcomb show Whistler growing into the world class resort that it is today. But there are also photos of the local community, bar events, school plays and road accidents, which express the vibrant and unique vitality of the people living in this mountain town.
In the exhibit itself, I wanted to display these images in a way that would convey a sense of the overwhelming number of photographs whilst respecting the integrity of the photographs themselves.
For some, the collection is sure to bring back some memories of their own time in Whistler during the 1970s and 80s.
For some, these photos will spark a sense of nostalgia of the memories that were captured; for others, these photos act as a window to the past of what this town once was.
With these documentary photographs of our town during a pivotal time, this September The Whistler Question: A Photographic History 1978-1985 invites the public to experience a Whistler that is long gone, but not forgotten.
By Lauren Smart. Lauren is the Whistler Museum’s Collections Coordinator this summer. She is a visual arts student at UBC and will be returning in the fall to continue her studies.
Nineteen Eighty-Four. No, I’m not referring to George Orwell’s seminal work of fiction, nor am I referring to the album released by Van Halen with songs like “Jump”. 1984 was a significant year in the development of Whistler as a year-round resort destination.
In 1982, Whistler Mountain successfully hosted a World Cup Downhill race after several early attempts were thwarted due to bad weather and poor snow conditions. Two years later, in March 1984, the second successfully held World Cup race would draw thousands to Whistler Village. It was one of the most successful promotions to date and would help solidify Whistler as a host for future World Cup events throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Spectators at the 1984 World Cup in Whistler Village.
Whistler and the nascent Blackcomb were four years into their competition to attract skiers to the resort and this was reflected in the advertising for both mountains.
The Whistler Golf Course and Club designed by Arnold Palmer opened to much fanfare in 1983. It had a successful first year in operation, but would the second year draw the same number of visitors to Whistler?
Since the completion of Whistler Village, it had been a struggle to attract visitors to Whistler outside of the ski season. A key component was on hold due to the economics of the early 1980s with high interest rates and lending institutions not willing to broker terms. In 1984, however, the construction of the Sports and Convention Centre was back underway.
Whistler and the Sea to Sky corridor had been used in many ski and outdoor adventure films, but had started to catch the eye of Hollywood and Japanese TV productions. This led to a Japanese TV company filming a yogurt commercial here starring Sean Connery.
Sean Connery seen filming a Japanese commercial for Biogurt on the Whistler Golf Course in September, 1984.
“They need a strong, healthy, clean image, and 007 fit the part,” said production coordinator Martin Yokata.
The sport of mountain biking had grown to include officially sponsored events and would begin to attract more events to Whistler that would draw competitors from across Canada and the United States, As has been detailed in other articles, the Great Earth, Snow and Water race was in its heyday and a number of other festivals and events attempted to draw visitors to Whistler in the spring, summer and fall.
Over the next few weeks, stay tuned for more stories detailing the importance of 1984 and the impact it had on determining Whistler as a year-round resort destination.
Every decade of Whistler’s history has a unique story to tell. The 1960s saw the optimistic launch of a brand new ski resort, the 70s were the free-spirited days of squatters and ski bums, and the 80s were when Whistler really got down to business.
The construction of Whistler Village and the opening of Blackcomb Mountain in 1980 were instrumental to Whistler’s ascendance on the world stage. Intrawest’s mid-decade arrival and Rob Boyd’s heroic hometown victory in 1989, not to mention the arrival of alpine chairlifts, an influx of Japanese powderhounds, and a new era in resort-oriented marketing count among other major milestones.
Of the 1980s numerous noteworthy developments, many would argue that ski fashion was not one of them
Despite the grand vision of Whistler’s earliest boosters, it was during the 1980s that Whistler developed from a regional ski hill to a global destination resort.
The Whistler Museum is excited to announce the launch of our 2015/16 Speaker Series on Sunday December 13th with an evening discussion featuring key figures who oversaw Whistler’s transformation during this pivotal decade.
The evening’s presenters are as follows:
Lorne Borgal, 1980s.
Lorne Borgal -Lorne’s Whistler career began in the 1970’s on the Volunteer Ski Patrol, and accelerated in June 1980 when, with a fresh Stanford MBA, he was hired to manage the business side of a nascent Blackcomb Mountain. Three years later he succeeded Franz Wilhelmsen as the second ever CEO of Whistler Mountain, and soon after that he took over as Chair of the Whistler Resort Association (predecessor to Tourism Whistler).
Mike Hurst – Mike’s first taste of Whistler came in 1971 while working as a marketing executive for Labatt’s Brewing. He quickly established a strong business relationship with the resort, but clearly it wasn’t enough. In the early 1980s he made the move to Whistler full-time, accepting a position in Whistler Mountain’s marketing department. He stayed with the resort through the decade, spearheading many groundbreaking promotional campaigns, and even running the Whistler Resort Association at one point, before returning to the iconic Canadian brewery in 1989.
Mike Hurst, 2nd from right, presenting the grand prize for an unknown promotion, early 1980s.
A young Bob Dufour poses for his official Ski School portrait, 1970s.
Bob Dufour – As a ski instructor from Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains, Bob Dufour came west to work for the legendary Jim McConkey in 1972. Nearly 44 years later, Bob continues with Whistler-Blackcomb having worked under every president from Franz Wilhelmsen to Dave Brownlie and witnessing firsthand an incredible amount of change. He currently holds the position of Vice President – Mountain Operations.
With the panel’s wealth of knowledge and experience, this evening promises to be a compelling and enlightening look at an often overlooked period in Whistler’s history.
When: Sunday December 13th; Doors at 6pm, show 7pm-9pm Where: Whistler Museum (4333 Main Street, beside the Library) Who: Everyone! Cost: $10 regular price, $5 for museum members
We expect this event to sell out, so make sure to get your tickets early. To purchase tickets stop by the museum or call us at 604.932.2019.
About Whistler Museum’s Speaker Series:
More than mere repositories of old stuff, museums are institutions of ideas, venues where communities share, debate, and explore their thoughts on the world at large. To that end the Whistler Museum hosts regular Speaker Series events featuring presentations on a diversity of subjects: from the usual suspects of mountain culture and adventure travel, to the environment, design, current events, and beyond.
The 2015/16 season will run monthly, December-May. In celebration of Whistler-Blackcomb’s 50th anniversary, all of this year’s events will focus on ski and snowboard history.
These events offer the perfect opportunity for locals and visitors alike to encounter compelling stories in a relaxed and sociable atmosphere. All Speaker Series events have a cash bar and non-alcoholic refreshments. Coffee provided courtesy of the Whistler Roasting Company.
