Great Snow-Earth-Water race lives again at Whistler’s newest outdoor festival

Whistler, B.C. – Whistler’s newest festival will help to launch the unofficial kick-off to summer while bringing back the legendary Great Snow-Earth-Water race. 

As snow recedes in the valley and the days bring more sunshine hours, May has long-been heralded as Whistler’s unofficial start to summer, with the opening of the local golf courses and the Mountain Bike Park coinciding with the start of many of Whistler’s summer activities.

This year, Whistler welcomes the inaugural GO Fest – the Great Outdoors Festival, featuring a schedule of events over the Victoria Day long weekend. While details are still being finalized, it is expected that GO Fest will feature family-friendly programming over four days, and the rebirth of The Great Snow-Earth-Water race – a legendary local event that enjoyed many years of success before its last run, more than 20 years ago. Originally billed as the original Whistler triathlon, the Great Snow-Earth-Water race started in 1975.  The multi-sport team relay event will be the festival’s anchor event and will take place on Saturday, May 18. In addition, plans are underway for a mass participation event suitable for all ability levels, entertainment and various activities and events that celebrate recreation, the outdoors and Whistler.

The GO Fest is part of the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Festival, Events and Animation program, funded through the provincial Resort Municipality Initiative and is produced by Crankworx Events Inc. with marketing support from Tourism Whistler.

“The May long weekend is an important piece of Whistler’s year-round events calendar, kicking off the unofficial start of our summer season” said Louise Walker, Tourism Whistler’s Vice President, Marketing Strategy. “The GO Fest will enhance the visitor experience and build upon Whistler’s reputation of offering a non-stop line-up of events in addition to our many activity options.”

It’s a great time to book your Whistler summer vacation package, with early booking promotions offering the third night free, and the PEAK 2 PEAK and accommodation package starting at $69 per person, per night. Stay and Play golf packages start at $145 per person, per night, the Rocky Mountaineer train package offers accommodation and round-trip train transportation from $315 per person, the Summer Stay and Scandinave package offers accommodation and the spa bath experience starting at $75 per person, per night and the Summer Stay and Zipline package features accommodation and a zipline tour starting at $89 per person, per night. Whistler-based travel consultants at whistler.com can customize vacation packages, taking care of flights, ground transportation, accommodation and activities. Whistler.com offers the largest selection with no booking fee for accommodation and activities. Call 1.800.WHISTLER (1.800.944.7853) to request a no-obligation quote or visit whistler.com for more details and offers.

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Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER andwhistler.com - Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.