A new festival celebrating the wonders of winter comes to Banff National Park this weekend, Jan. 14-15.
Dubbed SnowDays, the festival will build on past traditions and create new ones, offering two weekends of fun-filled events and mid-week festivities, combined with the popular Ice Magic Festival now running over two weekends.
Tourism officials say they hope Snow Days will give Calgarians and other regional visitors another reason to come to Banff National Park, and eventually be a draw to international visitors.
“It’s pretty much a new festival and a concept that came from the Competitive Initiative,” said Stuart Back, director in-resort services for Banff Lake Louise Hotel Motel Association.
“It’s the idea of winter animation and vibrancy. The festival is designed to grow over a number of years to become an engrained part of the winter experience.”
A new winter festival was the highest priority in a list of recommendations outlined in the 2011 Competitiveness Initiative panel involving Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Parks Canada and the Town of Banff.
The report, released last summer, called for an initial investment of $150,000 to get the festival off the ground, with the investment estimated to grow to $500,000 over five years.
The Mountain Adventure weekend kicks off the festival, Jan. 14-15, giving people a chance to try ice climbing at a climbing wall in Banff Avenue Square, or take a spin around the new downtown ice skating rink.
The Cartoons on the Loose! snow sculpture tour kicks off on Jan. 14, with the first of six snow sculptures.
In its 18th year, the popular Ice Magic Festival will now run over two weekends, from Jan. 20 to 29.
On Jan. 20-22, the 34-hour international ice carving competition kicks off on the shores of Lake Louise. Twenty-four professional ice carvers work in teams of two to sculpt towering works of art from blocks of solid ice.
With each ice block weighing a daunting 300 pounds, this exceptional art form involves gruelling physical labour in a delicate balancing act with precision artistry.
In addition to the carving competition, there will also be a One Carver, One Hour, One Block speed carving event at the Lake Louise Inn, interpretive ice carving demonstrations by Ice Magic Lead Judge Dan Rebholtz, an Ice Magic Judges Carve-Off at the Lake Louise Ski Area, horse drawn wagon rides and ice skating on Lake Louise.
The following weekend on Jan. 28-29, the Little Chippers Weekend is filled with activities and experiences that are focused on family fun.
This weekend features a new ice playground where kids can learn the art and science of ice carving first-hand, play ice mini golf, crawl through an ice tunnel and cruise down an ice slide. All kids activities are free.
Throughout the festival, there will be many learn-to programs put on by Parks Canada and the Banff Springs Hotel, including curling, identifying wildlife tracks, stargazing, snowshoeing and photography.
The weekend of Feb. 11-12 will see the first-ever Take It To The Street hockey tournament on Banff Avenue. There are only a limited number of team spots available, so register early to avoid disappointment.
Parks Canada will host several events, including wardens sharing songs, stories and poems at Banff Avenue Square on Feb. 11; soldiers from the Halifax Citadel NHS showing people the sights and sounds of Victorian Regiment drums and firing demonstrations, Feb. 10 and a Victorian hockey demonstration game with officers from the 78th Highlanders on Feb. 11.
“We’re really excited,” said Back. “We think this is going to be a really cool festival.”
