She came, she saw, she lived her best life. 

And now Laura-Ann Chong is settling in to her second “dream job” in as many years. 

If you’ve had the privilege of staying or playing at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, you can bet your experience was elevated thanks to the behind-the-scenes work of JPL’s marketing team. Whether it was helping deliver a celestial celebration at Symphony Under the Stars, ensuring hundreds of pyjama-clad patrons were well-appointed during Christmas in November or applying the the rosiest lens on the destination during the filming of The Bachelor, when it comes to casting Jasper in its best light, JPL’s marketing team consistently makes magic (just check out the property’s Instagram page).  

Since 2021, doing a significant amount of that promotional lifting was Public Relations Manager Laura-Ann Chong—and not just because she’s a former circus arts coach, Olympic-caliber gymnast and aerial performer.  

In March, Laura-Ann moved on from the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, having accepted a media relations and show promotions role with Cirque du Soleil as the Senior Publicist for their newest creation—bringing her journey full circle from when she performed with Cirque’s “Amaluna” tour a decade ago.

But with the influx of new Jasperites arriving in town and out at “the Lodge” for the 2024 summer season, The Jasper Local thought it would be apt to showcase the story of someone who not only embraced her role as an ambassador while on the clock, but lived her best life through the company she worked for—amplifying not only the hotel’s brand, but building meaningful relationships with a host of tourism partners and players, all the while making her hard work and dedication look like fun. 

Because for Laura-Ann, that’s the whole point.

“Finding brands and companies that speak to me is important,” she said days before announcing to her friends and colleagues that she would be working with Cirque du Soleil. “I never want to be stuck in a workplace where it feels like I’m doing someone else’s job.”

Since she was just a young girl, Laura-Ann held the Fairmont brand on a pedestal, she said.

“I remember staying at the Fairmont Empress [in Victoria, B.C.] with my gymnastics team. It had these huge ceilings, our room overlooked the pool, it was just an iconic place. I always associated the Fairmont with the heritage of Canada.”

Along with her sense of reverence for the brand, Laura-Ann has an innate desire to work her tail off—an ethic bestowed on her by her parents but also influenced by her experience training as an elite gymnast growing up (she was an alternate for the 2004 Canadian Olympic team). Although LA was somewhat trepidatious about moving to Jasper from Vancouver during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fit with Fairmont was like a glove—a white satin, extra-long evening glove, to be sure.

“My idea of the brand was always pure luxury, like ‘you’ve made it, you deserve to be here.’”

And she deserved it too, as evidenced by the hundreds of congratulatory comments on her “farewell Fairmont post” a few weeks ago.

“An absolute delight to work with you, LA. Keep killin’ it!” wrote Edmonton-based media personality and podcast host, Ryan Jespersen.

Although she was dedicated to her vocation, Laura-Ann still pursued other passions outside of work. Like many Jasperites, she found immersing herself in nature to be therapeutic. And how could she not learn to love golf at the JPL’s classic Stanley Thompson track?

Unlike most casual hikers, golfers, and skiers, however, Laura-Ann often carried into the woods a selection of equipment—ropes, silks and other rigging—to facilitate a different kind of nature experience: one with aerial inclinations. 

Her introduction into such gravity-defying endeavours came by way of local aerial performer and artist, Sasha Galitzki. Having circus arts as a mutual passion was too much of a coincidence for the pair not to become fast friends. The duo went on to found Cirque Aurora—a perfect outlet for LA’s love of circus arts and opulence. They booked gigs at lavish weddings, festivals and corporate galas. 

Putting her Cirque Aurora partnership on pause was yet another reason that made it hard for LA to move on from Jasper, but there’s not much time for looking back now. She is currently preparing for the Grand Premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s first country-themed production, Songblazers, slinging from North American city to city starting in Nashville, Tennessee, in July. 

As hundreds of new hires in Jasper embark on their own epic season in the Rockies, deciding where to spend their energy and how to get the most out of the destination while balancing their work commitments, ambassadors such as Laura-Ann Chong can offer some insight into living one’s best life, while simultaneously boosting one’s career.

“I always want to be authentic to myself, but when I’m representing someone or something, I’m aware that all of my interactions reflect not only on me, but anything I’m associated with,” she said.

As one friend and colleague wrote of her Jasper departure: “[My] heart is breaking and singing at the same time. Slay, LA.”

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com