The February lull that usually follows the excitement of Jasper in January is not likely to come this year, with Tourism Jasper and Parks Canada offering up a plethora of events to attract visitors to Jasper National Park this Family Day Weekend.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a big emphasis on Family Day this year,鈥� said Nancy Gordy, media and public relations specialist for Tourism Jasper. 鈥淲ith Jasper in January ending we want to focus our efforts on Family Day to keep people coming to town.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to see lots of people from Calgary and Edmonton making the trip for the long weekend.鈥�
To get people through the park gates, numerous businesses are offering deals on experiences鈥攍ike sleigh rides and ice walks鈥攁s well as hotel stays.
Parks Canada and Marmot Basin have also jumped on board, with Marmot offering kids 17 and under 50 per cent off on two and three day lift tickets over the weekend, and Parks hosting numerous events at the new Marmot Meadows Winter Hub.
鈥淔amily Day ties into what we鈥檝e been trying to do all winter long,鈥� said Gloria Keyes-Brady, JNP鈥檚 interpretation and information centre coordinator. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make winter a more fun and accessible time for all types of visitors to enjoy themselves.鈥�
As well as its regular programming at Marmot Meadows, Parks is also hosting a couple of additional activities just for Family Day Weekend. On Saturday, Feb. 13, it鈥檚 partnering with FreeWheel Cycle to offer free fat bike demos from 12 noon until 3 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 14, it has partnered with Wild Current Outfitters to offer a learn to cook program, where participants will cook over the open fire, as well as on a backcountry campstove.
Parks will have an interpreter at Marmot Meadows on Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday, as well in the afternoon on Monday.
鈥淥ne of the things that has been quite popular is the dark sky snowshoe,鈥� said Keyes-Brady.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 on the snowshoes and they鈥檙e just out there talking about the nighttime and ideally there鈥檚 constellations and stars, and there鈥檚 the moon and the wildlife and it鈥檚 all kind of fun being out there in the dark.鈥�
The dark sky snowshoe takes place Saturday and Sunday nights from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. (For a full schedule of events taking place at Marmot Meadows, check out page 7.)
Other weekend activities include daily snowshoe adventures with Walks n鈥� Talks Jasper, discounted sleigh rides at Pyramid Lake for kids six to 16 years of age on Family Day Monday and discounted ice walks in Maligne Canyon with SunDog Tours.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of winter activities on special,鈥� said Nancy Gordy, 鈥渁nd things are booking up.鈥�
For a full list of Family Day Weekend events, visit www.jasper.travel/family.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
