22.1°C Not observed 
Wild at Art isn’t so wild this year in a case of anticipation hitting reality.
Six years ago the Wild at Art festival launched in the hopes of showcasing Squamish’s amazing and diverse artistic talents to the world during the 2010 Games, which would surely be visiting the town in droves as the mid-point between the two host cities.
Performers and attendees endured the torment of cold and wet winter weather, popping in and out of one location after another while taking in events timed to coincide with the Olympics years down the road. But the momentum petered out as the Games arrived with a scaled back version piggybacking with other events to form “The Spirit of Squamish Festival Wild at Art.”
(Just think… if they’d known it was going to wind down by 2010, organizers could’ve scheduled the festival to coincide with nice weather all these years.)
Wild at Art was a terrific idea – and one that appeared to be well on its way to its end goal as it snared sponsors like CTV, which splashed the myriad performances, gallery displays, music contests and workshops on its TV and online media network.
Yes, Squamish seemed to be getting on the map. But now it’s pretty apparent organizers had stars in their eyes.
Honestly, who can blame them?
Who knew the Winter Games would end up overshooting our festival and our entire town? Not the mayor.
He let loose this week at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, saying his dealings with VANOC were among the most challenging of his life.
He added Squamish should not be criticized (leading us to wonder, who is he referring to?). He extolled the virtues of this town’s people, who were among the most vociferous champions of the Games during the bid process – he himself among them.
It seems that we all mistakenly believed we would see direct benefits during the Games. So how did we get so far off the mark?
The first mistake may have been in believing the Vancouver 2010 bid book. When that plan went to the IOC, it seemed a promise B.C. was making to the world, so we would surely get that ferry terminal, we would surely see thousands of tourists streaming off buses and trains – maybe even the Royal Hudson! – into our streets.
But hindsight is 20/20 – or rather, it’s 2010, as in “Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.”
The reality appears to be that no matter how much preparation Squamish undertook – including six years of planning a festival that would turn out to be very different than expected – the Games would never be leveraged the way locals had hoped.
The sad part is that while places all over B.C. and Canada gear up to cheer on our athletes and swell with pride as they see the torch carried through their town, Squamish has been left with a bitter taste before the Olympics even begin.
However the upshot of the Olympics cannot be denied: the expanded highway has eased the way for more and more visitors and permanent residents, and the development boom has made “Squamish” a household name in many parts of B.C.
It’s not the entire world’s attention, but it’ll do.
– Sylvie Paillard
0I would venture to say that the town's artists would have benefitted greatly without the effects of local municipal politicians. This is a fantastic town with such great heart and talent. It's political leaders make the world at large leery.
Posted on January 22, 2010 @ 7:11 pm PST | Report post to Editor | 3133177