Banff Lake Louise News

Looking to stay up to date on the latest and greatest news from Banff National Park?

Look no further... Banff Lake Louise Tourism just launched a FREE text messaging service so you can receive up to date information right on your cell phone.

What kind of texts can you receive? Try these out...

• Festival updates for our upcoming WinterStart Festival
• Weekly Ski Updates - every thursday
• Daily Conditions - every morning at 8am
• Weekly Events - for those wondering what to do with your weekend!

It's pretty darn easy to sign up, just visit www.banfflakelouise.com/plan-your-trip/mobile-alerts

We guarantee we won't use your number for anything else... so seriously, sign up now and stay connected with The World's Finest National Park!

I am really excited for November!

Why? Well for starters the Banff Mountain Film & Book festivals are in town showcasing "The World's Best Mountain Films & Stories" from November 1-9.

The 33rd annual film fest hosts feature length films (which in the past have been March of the Penguins, Into the Wild and Being Caribou), short film screenings and a group of films titled Radical Reels which is everything faster, steeper, higher and deeper! Sunday November 9 the festivities are concluded with the awarding of the Summit of Excellence award and the Best of the Festival winner.

The 15th annual book fest brings in authors of mountain and adventure travel stories with Sid Marty opening the festival and over 10 adventurous authors reading from their works of mountaineering, climbing, Ethiopia, Everest, and ecological issues.

Along with both festivals there is a wide array of other activities such as an art & craft sale, book fair, workshops on photography, writing and film making, be sure to also stop by the trade show which will help you in planning for your own mountain adventures!

Can't make it to Banff... let the festival come to you... check out the World Tour schedule!

For a full schedule of events, info about volunteering & workshops visit Banff Mountain Festivals

Also, I'd like to add a friendly reminder that our ski resorts are scheduled to open on the final weekend of the Festival. A perfect chance to experience a little adventure for yourself while enjoying the Festivals.

Banff National Park has got an abundance of events, art exhibits, live music and community activities happening every month. We are a population that likes to keep busy and to keep our visitors entertained.

October brings WordFest to town at The Banff Centre and various other venues, with over 70 artists speaking, reading and performing in over 65 events.

November is WinterStart... we say good bye to summer and hello winter! Be sure to join us for the Santa Claus Parade of Lights, indoor chirstmas crafts and activities, plus a christmas tree decorating contest between local business owner that you get to vote on.

November & December brings the Bombardier Lake Louise WinterStart World Cup to the Lake Louise Mountain Resort. Over two weekends you can hang out, ski/snowboard and watch the Men's and Woman's Super G & Downhill races.

Want to know what else we've got going on in the Park? Check out our Events and Festivals page!

The event was perfect, the weather was perfect and everyone is happily exhausted after 2 days of dragon boating and volunteering in between races!

I would like to send out kudos to the racers who came out to not only race in the Banff National Park Dragon Boat Festival, but to also give a hand when needed. The thing about events is they take a lot of people contributing their time to make it a success... this event was a HUGE success!

Saturdays races split the teams into their divisions, A, B and C. Sunday saw the teams fighting to place in the medal positions.

Gold medals went to - CP Dragnum out of Calgary in division A, while division B was won by "TomAto Tomato" also out of Calgary, and division C was won by a LOCAL team... "One Beer Too Many" aka Henry's Electric.

Curious as to how we did? "Feel the Burn" aka Banff Lake Louise Tourism placed second in the B division races. Considering we had some paddlers who had never paddled a dragon boat until that day, and the rest of us had only paddled maybe 7 times, I'm incredibly impressed with our drive to succeed at everything we do!

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!