BC: Winter Olympics to Host GLBT Pavilion

I’ve been asked a lot if I'll be attending the Winter Olympics this year - after all, Vancouver and Whistler aren't terribly far from Portland. I answer the same way as I do when asked about attending most big events: "I won't be there while the Olympics are happening, but I was just there." In writing about travel, it's often handier to conduct research ahead of an event, whether it's the upcoming Gay Games (I toured Cologne last summer), this month’s Sydney Mardi Gras (I checked out the sites there in September), or the Olympics.

I road-tripped to B.C. in November, not only to dig up details on what to do in Vancouver and Whistler during the Olympics, but also to find out more about one of North America’s foremost gay parties, WinterPride, also known as Whistler Gay and Lesbian Ski Week. There's a ton going on right now, and never before has an Olympics event had its very own GLBT pavilion (called PRIDE House, gaywhistler.com/pride-house.php), set up inside the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre. Even cooler - the very day following the Olympics closing ceremonies, Whistler’s WinterPride (gaywhistler.com) kicks off, running March 1-8.

I hadn't been to Whistler since the '90s, and I was happy to see plenty of improvements without any loss of its friendliness and ski-town charm. The once slow, heavily trafficked Sea to Sky Highway is still absolutely stunning, but now it's widened and straightened, making the drive far quicker (just be sure to carry snow tires and chains in winter).

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