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She calls herself a graduate of the University of Whistler. Kristen Robinson’s courses included being a waitress, guest services at Blackcomb (responsible for sniffle stations and snow reports, she says), driving the Mountain FM Mountain Patrol, newspaper columnist and festival production at the Whistler Resort Association.
She credits the fact that she worked with Maureen Douglass at the WRA (now Tourism Whistler) having started her down the path to become the Festival Director for Whistler Live.
“With Maureen I learned how to book my first band and put up my first posters,” laughs Robinson.
She was part of the World Ski and Snowboard Festival and the Winterstart Festival (when the resort held early season World Cup events). Robinson focused where her passion lay, on the musical component of the festivals.
“My parents have great backgrounds. My mother is a musician and my dad was an announcer and I was raised listening to my dad playing all the classics on the radio,” she says.
For Robinson, there was a connection with the audience that came to the concerts in the Village. It had to do with the bands and entertainers with whom she worked, but what gave her the really big thrill was seeing people having a good time listening to music. What could be better?
Well, the agent for a band that she had booked in the early days — one of the first shows for an unknown bunch of rockers called Nickelback — had a suggestion that led to a huge decision: Come to Toronto and follow your rock and roll dream, he said.
That’s exactly what Robinson did. She struggled for a while but eventually landed a position working with bands and developing sponsorships for tours and special events. The dream was becoming a reality.
“I learned a ton. In the office there were 13 agents with headsets and Blackberries buzzing, 40 million calls, record labels and sponsors,” she says adding that it was a different pace than Whistler. But one July morning that frantic pace was halted as quickly as a downhill skier caught in a safety net.
Robinson says the TV was on in the office on July 2, 2003, as IOC President Jacques Rogge announced that the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to Vancouver-Whistler. Watching as Whistler celebrated, Robinson realized she was homesick. “It was almost a panicky feeling that I’m in the wrong place,” she says.
Considering the gravity of a decision to return to Whistler (especially since her mom had just moved from Vancouver to Toronto), it wasn’t that long before Robinson again packed her bags.
Back in Whistler, Robinson worked at Resort TV and a bunch of events until an opportunity at VANOC came her way. A couple of years later she was hired by the RMOW as the festival director for Whistler Live.
Now, with just weeks to go before the curtain goes up on the six-plus “live sites” that will infuse sport, arts and entertainment throughout the Village, Robinson is in her element. She’s part of a team of Whistlerites who share the passion and know how to make magic in the Village.
The free Whistler Live experience is shaping up to be one of the highlights of the 2010 Games.
