I spent the weekend in Whistler where I was asked to help out with the Sears Great Canadian Run. No, I didn’t do any of the running (that part I left to the professionals). Instead, I hosted the closing ceremony. And what a celebration we had! 100 people spent their sunny Saturday running from Squamish to Whistler – raising money for pediatric cancer initiatives at BC Children’s Hospital and across Canada. Close to $100,000 was raised at this event which is an incredible amount of money! Toronto and Ottawa are also taking part with similar runs this fall. And dozens of volunteers also helped out.
Next up — the Great Canadian Chill in February 2012! Click here for more information. And congratulations to everyone who took part! Together, we can all beat cancer.
Dawn and I had an awesome time in Whistler for WinterPride! And we got a chance to talk with our friends Rob and Karen from the morning show on Mountain FM in Squamish. Here’s our chat from this morning!
K
Dawn and I are heading up to Whistler on Sunday afternoon to help kick off WinterPRIDE! It’s the 19th year of the event and stretches over 8 days at Whistler. It’s one of the largest gay and lesbian ski weeks in the entire world, attracting more than 2500 people each and every year.
If you’re interested in taking part — check out gaywhistler.com
We’re live in Whistler Village on Monday morning from 6-9 with lots of fun things planned! See you then!
The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler — are the very first games to have a Pride House catered towards gays and lesbians who are taking part in the Olympics and watching the competitions, too.
While there aren’t any specific numbers on gays and lesbians competing in Vancouver and Whistler — there are many of them. But not all of them are publicly “out” with their sexuality. And that could be for a number of reasons. They’re not ready to take that step. They fear it could potentially damange their chances in judged competitions. They fear rejection from their colleagues. And in many countries taking part in the 2010 Olympics, homosexuality is outlawed.
The Pride House is a venue for everyone to feel welcomed and accepted at the Olympics. And it’s been a very popular venue in Whistler. It’s going to stay up and running in both Vancouver and Whistler until after the Paralympics end on March 21st. Then there are plans to continue this legacy at future Olympics — like in London in 2012. For more information on the Pride House — visit this website.
I had a chance to talk with Mark Tewksbury the other day. He is most famous for winning the Gold Medal for Team Canada back in 1992 at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. But when Mark was competing — he was holding back a very deep secret. Mark is gay. And he didn’t tell anyone for fears it would affect his chances at owning the podium. Mark went public with his sexuality in 1998. And is a huge advocate for gays and lesbians competing in sports. We ran some of my interview with Mark this morning on Breakfast Television — and also showed you the Whistler Pride House. Take a look at one of my live segments from this morning.
I’m off to Vancouver for a couple of days. But will be live once again in Whistler on Monday morning — as we look back at the Closing Ceremonies. And look ahead to what’s next for this community.
Have a great weekend! And enjoy what’s left of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler!
We had a double-medal performance by Team Canada in the Women’s Bobsleigh last night. And the crowds went nuts up here! I was in Whistler Village last night. And the energy among the thousands of people who were walking up and down the village stroll, was incredible. Everyone wore their Canadian gear and were screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs. The vibe was awesome. It’s something we should all be very proud of as true Canadians.
Take a look at how things went last night and you’ll see what I mean…!
K
PS – Friday on BT we’ll show you the Whistler Pride House. And my interview with Mark Tewksbury on the challenges of being gay in professional sports.
I just had the pleasure of meeting Canadian Olympic Medalist Mark Tewksbury. Mark won the gold medal in men’s swimming back at the Barcelona Summer Olympics in 1992. And he’s in Whistler to promote the very first Olympic Pride House.
Mark is openly gay. And a huge advocate for equal rights for all athletes competing in professional sports.
Friday on Breakfast Television, you’ll hear what Mark has to say about the challenges of being gay in professional sports. And we’ll show you the Whistler Pride House.
The snow has once again started to fall up here — and it’s slowly starting to feel like winter once again.
All eyes will be watching the big hockey game this afternoon between Canada and Russia. Hopefully the boys can pull off their much-needed win.
And a great accomplishment from Whistler gal Ashleigh McIvor who took the Gold medal in Women’s Ski Cross yesterday at Cypress Mountain. Here’s hoping our athletes can add more medals to our collection later today.
This morning we gave you a “behind the scenes” look at the broadcasting operations up here in Whistler. Check it out!
I’m now into my third week of being in Whistler. And spending so much time up here non-stop has been quite the learning experience. Everything from where to go for dinner, places to avoid, and especially how many people TALK up here. Yes…the language of the snowboarders. It’s quite interesting.
This morning — I brought my Whistler cameraman Ryan onto BT — and he gave us a lesson on the language used in Whistler. Check it out here, and under BT Bites! Dude, it’s totally sick.
The wicked weather continues from Whistler this morning! We decided to take advantage of these stellar conditions — and headed up to the very top of the mountain. The view — is breathtaking. And it was one of my favourite places I’ve ever done live TV from.
