Tell us a little bit about yourself My name is Guylaine St. Gelais. I have lived in Revelstoke for the past 13 years. Like many people, I originally came here for a winter to snowboard, but ended up staying. I grew up on a farm outside of Montreal in Quebec where the land was very flat! When I came to Revelstoke, I immediately fell in love with the mountains and the backcountry and delved right into the mountain scene. Though winter in Revelstoke first drew me in, after moving here, I soon came to love the summer even more. I met my partner here and now we have a young son. We feel very fortunate to call Revelstoke home and to have the opportunity to raise our son here. It’s a very special place that we live in. Professionally, my background is social work. When I first got to Revelstoke, I worked at a women’s shelter for four years. Looking for a change, I ended up connecting with the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce. I started as the Visitor Centre Manager and have since taken on the role of Visitor Experience Manager to develop and run some of our organization’s programs. What are some of the things that you’ve been working on? One of the main projects is the Revelstoke Ambassador Program. Created for locals, our program provides foundational Revelstoke knowledge to help local workers enhance their customer service skills and provide a better visitor experience throughout the town. In addition, I help to ensure that our visitor services have everything their need to provide as much information to our guests as possible. In the summer, we offer a roving visitor services program where we take our van to different locations in the National Park to try and encourage people to explore and check out our wonderful town in addition to the National Park. I’m sure that you’ve probably seen many changes over the years that you’ve lived in Revelstoke. What are some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen? Back when I first came, the people that were attracted to Revelstoke were primarily the heavy, hard-core adventure seekers. More recently however, we’re seeing a more diverse audience. The summer visitor used to be very different than then our winter visitor. Our summer visitors were here to see our National Park, but the winter visitors were here primarily to ski and only ski. Nowadays people aren’t necessarily coming here to bike or ski. They are coming here for other reasons including the small-town mountain experience. They’ve discovery the incredible cross-country skiing, the winter hiking trails, spa and so much more. Today’s Revelstoke is for anyone of all ages and interests. If you were to choose your favourite place in Revelstoke, where would it be? My very favourite place in Revelstoke is a little spot on a rock in our neighbourhood that sits out overlooking the river. I love sitting there. It reminds me of my good friend who passed away. I love how you can feel the strength of the river. It’s just such a beautiful place to slow down and connect with nature. Outside of work band being a mother, what are some of your favourite activities? I snowboard. I love anything to do with snowboarding – in particular, the backcountry. In the summer, it’s all about mountain biking. Just recently, I also started exploring pottery. If you were to pick three words to describe Revelstoke what would they be? Connection - connection to the people and to the land. Nature. Home. What would you say is the must-do thing in Revelstoke? Whatever your ability, everyone should make a point of experiencing the alpine. It’s there and accessible and that’s such a rare thing. In the summer, alpine meadows are spectacular. In the winter, it’s a different experience, but equally as amazing. Is there something that you want to share? A local’s secret that you might have? Grab a scoop of gelato from La Bagette! I am dairy-free and they make an incredible sorbet and white chocolate gelato. I highly recommend it! The cookies from Terra Firma are also a must-have. Their cookies are loved by all the locals.

My name is Zuzana Riha. I live in Revelstoke and have so for the past 29 years. I moved here because I love the climate, I love the four seasons and I love the fact that I can adventure year-round, outside. I really like being outside and surrounded by nature.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Steve Shannon, and I am a freelance photographer. I lived in Revelstoke for 10 years before recently moving to Nakusp. Originally, I’m from Rossland. I feel like I’ve pretty much skied for my entire life! It was skiing, the mountains and work opportunities that initially drew me to Revelstoke. What was it that started your interest in photography? I was in fact formally trained as an engineer and used to design mining equipment. I guess my interest in photography started after I got a camera when I graduated high school. At the same time I was studying engineering, I was also documenting all my adventures with my friends. After I graduated university, I started picking up some photo work here and there. Four years later, I made a leap and started my full-time career in photography. That’s when I moved to Revelstoke. Describe your work. My photography is based around outdoor adventure activities. Skiing, mountain biking, climbing, motorcycles, snowmobiles – anything outdoors and active is generally what I like to shoot. Is there a photographer that you are inspired by? My first big photographic inspiration was Jordan Manley. He was originally a prolific action sports photographer that has since transitioned into film making. When he broke on to the scene, he blew everyone away. I’ve always admired his sense of composition and use of light, and the way he showcases the environment. That’s something that I’ve always tried to do with my work. It’s not so much about the athletics as it is about where the sport takes you – the location. The wild places. I’m an active participant in everything I shoot. The reason I got into the sports that I have is so that I can go to remote mountain tops and have so many incredible adventures. What is it about what you do or your style that makes sets you apart from the others? I generally shoot more with a wide angle than telephoto. I’m always looking for those big, beautiful landscapes that seem to have a sense of timelessness. It catches people’s eyes. I shoot a lot of stuff where people can picture themselves, or where they aspire to go. Do you have a favourite image or one that is particularly memorable? It continues to be that pursuit of the perfect image that keeps me going. One of my favourite images was taken when I was on a backpacking trip in Nepal. We mountain biked the Annapurna circuit and then into the Upper Mustang, a large mountain-fringed basin home to the headwaters of the Kali Gandaki. In a period of three weeks, we covered over 500 kilometres at elevations of up to 5400 metres carrying all our stuff, including mountain bikes and camera gear. When we got to the high point of the trip, I felt like complete garbage. I sat down and thought that I should probably take a picture of myself. I turned the camera around and took a shot. There was nothing in my mind other than the fact that all I wanted was to descend! It’s a funny picture because I look terrible, yet it also brings back many fond memories of not just how hard that trip was, but also how rewarding it was. If you were to choose your favourite place in Revelstoke, where would it be? My absolute favourite place would be a backcountry lodge called Sol Mountain Lodge, a backcountry lodge that caters to mountain biking and ski touring. I worked there for many years helping out and taking so many photographs. It was at Soul Mountain that I both met my fiancé and proposed to her. What three words would you use to describe Revelstoke. Adventurous. Beautiful. Welcoming. What inspires you? Getting outside into beautiful places. To me there is nothing better than going out on an adventure, up high in the mountains, and enjoying a beautiful view.

I was raised in a little village of 500 people in North Yorkshire in the UK. It was a rural town with literally one shop, a school, a church and three pubs. Growing up next door to one of the pubs, it was only natural that my career in the kitchens started there at the age of thirteen, washing dishes.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. I was originally born in Trail but grew up in Castlegar where I first met my husband, Ken English. In 1978, we moved to back to his hometown of Revelstoke. Ken was born and raised here. In fact, he was born in the old hospital which was located on the site of the current Save-On-Foods. They say in order to call yourself a real local, you need to have been born in the meat department of Save-On-Foods! Ken’s family originally moved to the town in 1920. After moving to Revelstoke, I started as the curator of the Revelstoke Museum & Archives in 1983. Since then, I have spent a lot of time absorbing the history of this area into my brain and sharing it with others. What do you love about Revelstoke? People in this town put down roots. There’s something about the spirit of the people here. Perhaps it’s because we’re an isolated mountain town that brings out a resilient spirit in people - if we need something, we will create it. I love that about this town. What is the biggest change you’ve seen in Revelstoke over the years? Definitely the development of the ski hill and how that changed who comes and why people come. While a lot of people have seen this as an opportunity to make money, there has also always been people to look after each other no matter what. At the core of this town is a real friendliness and resilience. What’s something people might now know about the town? In the early part of the 1900’s, it was one of the largest cities in the interior of BC - Kamloops, Nelson and Revelstoke were the largest interior communities. It was all because of Revelstoke’s importance as a transportation centre. There are many things in the community that people are surprised to see based on the relatively small size of the current community. For example, the courthouse. What people forget is that it was once a major city with a population of approximately 3000 to 4000 people. Tell us about one of your favourite local historical characters? I would say my favourite has always been J. Guy Barber. He was a local jeweler who came here in about 1890. Early pictures of him show him to be very handsome - tall dark and handsome, as they say! He was involved in so many things in the town. He was very musical - he would sing, play the banjo, emcee of events, choirs - he truly was a man about town. Barber was also the eligible bachelor of the town which made him all the more interesting. Barber came to Revelstoke in 1890 and lived here until the mid 30’s before he moved away. He never married. What is one of your favourite programs at the museum? Our Brown Bag History talks. Every other Wednesday, I show a slide show followed by a 45-minute talk. You bring your bag lunch, and we provide the coffee, tea, and cookies. The topics change regularly and range from local and regional history to different aspects of the mining history, people - anything and everything. Next year will be the 20th anniversary of our Brown Bag Talks. To date, I’ve given over 300 talks. Since the pandemic, the talks have moved online and posted on our YouTube channel. It’s a wonderful and easy way to learn more about the history of our area. What do you love most about your job? Making connections. Connecting visitors with the history of Revelstoke to our exhibits and our programs, as well as making connections with people who reach out looking for information on their family history. I’ve had thousands of people come in over the years! Helping people to make those personal connections with their family is a gift. For example, there was this one family with several siblings who had all gone their separate ways. I managed to reunite five branches of the family who came in at different times looking to reconnect with their family. What would you recommend people check out when they are in town? The museum of course, but also the Revelstoke Railway Museum and BC Interior Forestry Museum which is open in the summer.