The Jib Fest Weekender is taking place at Marble Mountain on February 17 and 18.

By Megan Harris-Edwards

The skiers and snowboarders had a beautiful day to be on the hill last year at Wild West Jib Fest. Megan Harris-Edwards photo

Wild West Jib Fest last year at Marble Mountain was the biggest bash of the winter season on the west coast. The tickets sold out for the one-night party that saw 900 people packed into the top floor of the resort’s chalet.

When all the party goers woke up on Sunday morning and filed onto the coaches back to St. John’s, the only thing they had to say was, “I can’t wait for next year.”

The event was a huge success for the organizers, but that doesn’t mean that things ran as smoothly as they had originally planned.

Joe Meadows, one of the organizers of the Jib Fest Weekender, explained that it took a lot of time, hard work and planning to pull off something like this.

“Last year, we were just starting off,” said Meadows. “We had never done anything like this before so we certainly had some hiccups.

“But with an event this size, especially since we plan it from a distance, essentially we have to do our best to think of everything beforehand.”

To make the event a success again, the organizers knew they had to polish it for the second time around. They switched up the name to the Jib Fest Weekender, put together a mascot and really upped their advertising. They also added on another night of partying, making it more of an inclusive weekend.

“A lot of people had a good time last year, but we just want to make sure even more have a good time this year,” said Meadows.

Skiers and snowboarders entered in the competition last year to show off their skills and have some fun. Megan Harris-Edwards photo

This year the organizers put a huge focus on the competition to make sure that it’s of a calibre that would do justice to the rest of the events of the weekend.

“We certainly want to do the best we can to offer the closest type of experience to what people would see at an event like this at Whistler,” said Meadows.

“I mean obviously the scale is going to be a lot smaller, but at the same time we just want to make sure everyone has a blast!”

Kyle Taylor, 22, of Conception Bay South attended Wild West Jib Fest last year while he was living in Stephenville studying at the College of the North Atlantic.

“It was a lot of fun! I got to do some snowboarding in the day and party all night,” said Taylor.

Taylor plans to attend the Jib Fest Weekender again this year and he is spreading the word on the west coast about the event.

“I think that there’s a lot of people talking out here and wanting to get out to Jib Fest,” said Taylor.

“I’m from CBS, so I knew about this beforehand, but I feel like a lot of people are hearing about it and interested in going out… I tell everyone!”

The Jib Fest Weekender is coming up on February 17 and 18 at Marble Mountain.