Banff Lake Louise News

On August 22, Banff National Park will have 22 Buddhist Monks from Calgary's Avatamsaka Monastery visiting the shores of Lake Minnewanka to bless the dragon boats that are being used in the weekend's races.

The Eye Dotting Ceremony (the blessing) is an ancient ritual of "awakening the dragon" in which the Monks paint the eyes on each of the dragon boat figureheads to call forth their spirits. Chinese culture will be celebrated with traditional Chinese dancers and various other activities through out the festival.

Community spirit runs rampant in Banff National Park with 8 local teams entered (none of whom have ever paddled a dragon boat before I might add) and 7 'more experienced' teams from out of town competing in the races.

Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Town of Banff, Brewster Inc., local firefighters, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Banff Caribou Properties, Home Wise Renovations, and Henry's Electric will all be vying for local bragging rights throughout the weekend and once the boat wakes have calmed and the races are finished on Sunday August 24 the awards ceremony will take place.

Here's a little teaser video we created during the first ever paddle of the Banff Lake Louise Tourism team!

Join us in cheering on each of the teams on Saturday August 23 & Sunday August 24, and watch history in the making for the inaugural year of the Banff National Park Dragon Boat Festival!

We might be a small mountain town, but we know how to throw a party!

The Town of Banff has invited 4 of Canada's top acts to take the stage on Thursday August 21 for an "all day music extravaganza" to celebrate the refreshing our beautiful Banff Avenue underwent last summer.

Ron Sexsmith, Joel Plaskett Emergency, K-OS and Theory of a Deadman will be taking the stage in the middle of our redesigned, pedestrian friendly downtown from 1:00PM - 9:00PM.

Banff Live is free (here we are offering yet another free day of activities... we just can't help ourselves!) and will be an experience you won't want to miss... so come on out, join us and enjoy!

OnTheSnow.com placed Banff in 4th spot within the Top 10 best "no car needed" ski resorts in the world.

Here's what they had to say about us:

4. Banff, Alberta: Stay high in the Canadian Rockies in the town of Banff and ski at Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, and Mt. Norquay. Go directly to the lifts using the Big Three pass. Getting to and from the ski areas is easy on the Banff Shuttle that picks up and delivers at most of the hotels. The Banff Airporter is a good bet from Calgary International Airport and makes numerous round trips. The skiing is world-class and the scenery literally breathtaking.

With the way gas prices are going these days it's no wonder people are starting to look at alternate ways to get to the ski resorts, and the Banff National Park ski hills and hotels are more then happy to accommodate! Not only does this public transportation save our skiers and boarders gas, but the buses also drop you off at the ticket window saving you a walk from the parking lot and it's lower impact on the environment.

Come to Banff and Lake Louise to ski this winter, sit back and relax while someone else drives you to the hill!

When you visit Banff National Park there is a good chance that you’re going to see more than just your friendly neighbourhood squirrel, there is a whole range of animals that you may come across whether out on the trail or passing by in your vehicle.

While these encounters with wildlife are truly extraordinary and memorable, your role with wildlife helps protect both you and nature. In conjunction with Parks Canada, there are some great resources available to anyone visiting the Park that give tips on what to do if and when you encounter an animal.

• Bears and People - Bear attacks are uncommon, how to handle an encounter and how to handle an attack

• Bear updates - Keep a lookout for berry bushes along the trails

• Trail conditions - Did you know that the “trail conditions report” put out by Parks Canada gives current wildlife related warnings and closures. “Check it out before you head out!”

• Cougars, wolves and coyotes - Stay safe and keep carnivores wild

Thanks to these resources, everybody has a better understanding of nature, and the conflicts with animals are few and far between. Did you know that, thanks to Parks Canada issuing their Elk Management Strategy, there have only been 2 elk contact charges in 9 years?

• Elk in Banff National Park - The best places to see elk and minding your ‘elk’ manners

You can pick up information about wildlife and animal encounters at either the Parks gates as you enter the Park, or at local information centres.

© Claus-Peter Ernst

This is why you don't get to close to wild life... it's wild! Lets keep it that way!

First of all... what is social media?

Wikipedia has it defined as "an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings." Some social media websites you might recognize would be Wikipedia itself along with MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, & Flickr.

What does all this have to do with Banff Lake Louise Tourism or Banff National Park? Well, Banff Lake Louise Tourism has been busy for the last 8 months creating videos for online distribution. We found the stories of the local characters, businesses and employees and created some fun, jealousy making, experiences... favourite quote "my life is better then your vacation".

The community's of Banff & Lake Louise have jumped on the social media wagon and are asking visitors and employees to share their own experienses with the world through YouTube videos.

As a visitor you can submit your video showcasing "Family Adventure in the Western Canadian Mountains" to win an amazing prize package! For more details and to see what's been submitted so far check out youtube.com/user/FairmontMountains

As an employee working in Banff & Lake Louise between the ages of 18-30 you and your friends could win $500 for creating a video that tells the world why it's so great to live and work in Banff National Park. The deadline for submitting videos for this contest is looming, for more information contact www.bllhma.com

In 1933 The Banff Centre began as the "Banff School of Drama". During the dirty 30's a.k.a. the Great Depression, they still had 190 students enrolled in the 2 week drama course and ever since then the Banff Centre hasn't looked back.

A whole array of artists and activists have passed through the doors of the Banff Centre... including Devin and Nate Sturdy's father who was in the photography program during the 70's. Oscar Peterson & Phil Nimmons set up the Jazz program, Agness DeMille and Aaron Copland took part in the Banff Festival of the Arts, W.O. Mitchell received the first annual Banff Centre School of Fine Arts Award in 1980, David Suzuki visited for a resource conference and Sir Edmund Hillary launched the Banff Mountain Summit... just to name a few!

Throughout this year the Banff Centre will celebrate its 75th anniversary with creative performances and programs, and launch new initiatives and partnerships, such as commission a new Canadian play.

The Banff Centre showcases the Canadian Rockies to the world, while bringing world cultures to Banff... join them for a show this year, sign up for a program, or simply enjoy the view and a meal at the new restaurant.

The name Siksiká comes from the Blackfoot words sik (black) and iká (foot), with a connector "s" between the two words.

The Blackfoot Confederacy consists of four different tribes, the Pikuni/Peigan, North Peigan Pikuni, Blood/Kainai, and Blackfoot/Siksika. Members of the Blackfoot Confederation presently live in Alberta, Canada and Montana, United States.

If you're interested in experiencing local First Nations culture in Banff National Park we invite you to join the Siksika Nation dancers and drummers in the Cascade Gardens behind the Park Administration Building.

Need directions? Go south on Banff Ave. you'll spot the building right in front of you at the end of the road.

The Siksika Nation Interpretive Centre celebrates its tenth season in 2008. Join us for drumming and dancing Tuesdays at noon from July 8th to September 2, 2008.

For more information on Siksika First Nations, visit www.blackfootcrossing.ca

Looking for something to do with the family once the Stampede has left town?

On Saturday July 19th all of the National Parks across Canada will be hosting events and activities in celebration of Canada's treasures.

This years events within Banff National Park will be taking place at the Banff Community High School, which if you're unfamiliar with the town is close to downtown, 330 Banff Ave... ask a local, they'll point you in the right direction!

From 11am - 3pm you and your family could learn what the difference is between horns and antlers, watch a Parks Canada Fire Crew demonstration, enjoy the theatre with "Faces of Fire", join in a game of Wildlife Hockey and hop on the gigantic Brewster Ice Explorer to learn more about our glaciers.

As if that isn't enough to do, there are also guided walks along trails and up mountains, or enjoy a cup of tea in the historic Cascade of Times gardens or even learn how to take the best photo at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site!

For a full schedule of events and more details check our Calendar of Events

Did I mention all the activities are FREE?! Hope to see you there!

I was reading through one of the local papers this week and came across an article titled "Banff now literally out of this world"... shall I go on?

Apparently way back in 1976 the International Astronomical Union committee approved naming a crater on Mars "Banff" after our beautiful little mountain town. Mayor John Stutz is quoted as saying "My understanding is that it's the most beautiful mountainous crater on the whole planet, so what a great fit because that's certainly what we are about in Banff."

Wikipedia states that there are hundreds of thousands of craters on Mars, but only some of them have names. If they are less then 60km in diameter then they are named after towns on earth. The Banff crater is 5km in diameter.

For full crater details and a map with Banff crater marked check out MarsMap.net

For a full list of named craters on Mars check out Wikipedia

Who is Happy Guy? That was what 2 brothers from Australia were trying to figure out for 7+ years when Nathan Sturdy found the photo of the contagiously smiling face in a trash can at a hotel he worked at in Banff. Check out the photo at www.whoishappyguy.com

That photo has been living on the door of the family fridge... up until a few weeks ago.

Last fall after starting a "Who is Happy Guy?" facebook group, Nathan and his brother Devin found him... in Calgary.

On Monday June 30, 2008 the Happy Guy creators got to shake hands with and hand back the very famous photo of Paul Daggett aka Happy Guy.

Left to Right: Nathan Sturdy, Paul Daggett (Happy Guy), Devin Sturdy

Follow the story through the links below...

Happy guy on Calgary Breakfast Television part 1

Happy guy on Calgary Breakfast Television part 2

On the other end of the phone in Australia on Breakfast Television

City TV and Breakfast Television interview & first meeting!