When Rob Krause and Daria Salamon decided to put their 9-5 lives on hold, pull the kids out of school and go backpacking around the world for a year, they had some apprehensions. But beyond the regular traveller trepidations—getting bit by a poisonous snake or catching malaria, for example—there wer...

Almost three decades ago, The Jasper Booster—precursor to Jasper’s current community newspapers—had a space to fill in its newsroom. The Booster’s long-standing editorial cartoonist, Thomas Boldt—or Tab, as he became known for his work with Sun Media Newspapers—was moving on.  Then-publisher Haf Bai...

Ever wonder how The Jasper Local gets created? After the stories are collected and written, after the photos are snapped and selected, and after the advertisements are booked and approved—and then once our art director puts everything together in an eye-catching layout—it’s time to send the files to...

Forget the Double IPAs and Chocolate Porters, all we wanted at Alberta Beer Festivals ' Jasper Craft Barley Summit was...a beer I’m a beer dork. Not a beer geek , mind you—that would require knowing something about the beer brewing process. I’d need to learn about different fermentation vessels and ...

Before she bought the Bear’s Paw Bakery, the only thing Kim Stark had ever baked was a batch of chocolate chip cookies. But in 2002, when she and her then-partner decided they wanted to live in Jasper and own a business, never having baked from scratch before didn’t seem like a particularly big hurd...

Taylor Lancee, Fairmont JPL’s Public Relations Manager, displays a selection of what CIN guests receive as complimentary amenities as part of their registration package. // Bob Covey For decades since its storied opening at the turn of the 20th century, the Jasper Park Lodge has been known as a luxu...

Jasper foodies, start your appetites. With the launch of Jasper Food Tours earlier this spring, owner and entrepreneur Estelle Blanchette is waving the green flag for the commencement of culinary cruising in Jasper. Jasper Food Tours started with beers and game meatloaf at The Jasper Brewing Co. // ...

This story was originally published by The Jasper Local in 2014 Nine months ago, Jasper’s Margo Bereska knew she had to go to Hawaii. She didn’t know why, or for how long. She just knew she had to go. “I have to follow my heart,” she said at the time. “I don’t get the details. I just get the hits.” ...

It was 1993. May. The almost two-month long siege at Waco Texas had just ended in terrible massacre; the siege of Sarajevo by the Bosnian Serbs was into its second year. The following month would see TVs final episode of Cheers and rave reviews for blockbuster movie Jurassic Park. There was no fanfa...

Downstairs at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, tucked away in the hotel’s east wing, not far from the entrance to the staff cafeteria, a portal exists. It is a gateway to a culinary experience unlike any other in Jasper.  An ornately designed curtain covers a small entryway (watch your head!). ... cr...

The Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives is hoping a new exhibit will become the bedrock of the institution. The museum is planning to create a geological education area, a permanent showpiece which will pay tribute to a Canadian geologist who conducted much of his field work in Jasper National Par...

When Dwain Gilzene came to Canada from Jamaica, he had $40 to his name. He was 25-years-old, had never been out of his home country and was hoping that by following his sister to Jasper, he’d be able to create a better life for himself and his daughter. Because he was relocating halfway across the w...

My last thought before falling asleep after a long, cold day on the trail was “heaven is a lasagna of sleeping bags.” At least that’s what my last thought was supposed to be. Instead, as I zipped myself into three layers of down-lined, thermal quilts, supported by two air mattresses in a finally-war...

Back in Jack Pugh’s day, there was no such thing as lycra or carbon fibre. Ski bindings tightened with lugs and cables, and after you climbed up a mountain with 215 cm wooden skis on your “bedroom slipper” lace-up boots, you wrapped your seal hide skins around your waist to descend. Jack will be 90 ...

If Alberta’s beer industry was a batch of microbrew, in 2005, when the Jasper Brew Pub opened its doors, the batch’s barley would have had scarcely made it to the mill. Today, not only has the mash been converted, the yeast been added to the wort and the beer been filtered, carbonated and cellared, ...

The Jasper Folk Music Festival is singing a new tune these days. The festival, which was cancelled last year for a lack of a suitable location, is in talks with the Municipality of Jasper to host the event on the yet-to-be-named Exchange Lands. “So far everything is on course,” said vice-chairperson...

Estelle Blanchette wants the world to eat in Jasper. For the last few years, as part of her overseas marketing work with Tourism Jasper, Estelle Blanchette would often hear about up-and-coming trends in tourism. Like wine, some of these were half corked (segway tours, anyone?), while others seemed t...

Night of Lies—an evening featuring tales of struggles, near misses and debauchery while working and playing in the Rockies—is coming to Jasper. The event originated in Calgary 17 years ago before finding a permanent home in the Bow Valley. Now, thanks to Rockaboo Mountain Adventures, Night of Lies i...

It started with Pyramid Mountain. And a two-dollar child seat on the back of my Rocky Mountain Blizzard. We’d been in Jasper for two months yet I hadn’t really noticed the mountain before. Then all of a sudden, as though the mountain had dropped from Heaven the previous night, I saw it for the first...

“In the theatre, there’s a name for people who create together- it’s called an ensemble. Take a look around the circle.  “This is your ensemble for the week. And because they’re in your ensemble, it’s your job to take care of them onstage. Each one of your jobs is to raise the rest of your ensemble ...