Whistler has long been a destination for people from all over the world. The stunning peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, the winter and summer sports, and the endless shopping and dining ensure there really is something for everyone.
But, what draws over 3,000 LGBT travellers every winter to its annual Pride and Ski Festival?
Acceptance.
Ask anyone who identifies outside of the heterosexual box about world travel and they’ll probably tell you two things. One, there just aren’t a lot of gay-friendly destinations and two, hardly any of them exist in a tiny community of 10,000 people, such as Whistler.
Canada has been at the forefront of support for LGBT rights when compared to countries in the rest of the world. Legalizing same-sex marriage over a decade ago sent a clear message – this is a place of acceptance, equality and safety.
Now, as Whistler Pride amps up to celebrate 25 years next winter, it’s important to remember it wasn’t always this way.
Greg Coram came to Whistler in the mid ‘90s, living the dream of every 20-something who heads to the resort town for days of fresh powder and nights of endless parties.
“I remember being here in ’94 and ’95 and no one was out,” he says. “There were no places for the gays to hang out, and I left after two years because of that. Because I knew I wouldn’t ever be able to come out here.”
Twenty years later, Coram and his partner return to Whistler Pride almost every year and have watched a small, but present LGBT community grow.
“It used to be that the gays would flock to the village for gay ski week, but now it’s a mix of travellers and people who call Whistler home.”
Vancouver burlesque performer April O’Peel came back for her second Whistler Pride this year, performing for the ladies at Purrlesque on the Friday night of the festival, which took place Jan. 23-31.
“The women of Whistler were just excited there was an event for them,” O’Peel says. “This really is impacting the people who live here, and they are the people who really need it.”
As a younger generation of LGBT folk walk an easier path, paved by those who came before them, the goal to co-exist in a free and open society has been reached in many larger Canadian cities. But, in countries such as Russia, LGBT rights and freedoms are still threatened by recent discriminatory legislative proposals.
That is what makes events like Whistler Pride and Ski so important. Inviting the world to come and play in one of the most beautiful places in Canada – rainbow flags dotting the village and hotel hot tubs full of muscle – says loud and clear to the world: we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.
