FFWD Weekly
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Splice by FFWD Staff Rediscovering the beauty of Banff National Park Not every road trip requires directions – most Calgarians have made several visits to Banff National Park over the years, whether it’s to show cousin Joe the sites or to spend a day skiing. But how many people are knowledgable about the park’s history, geology and wildlife? And how many people always return to the same tourist attraction, never going further from the town than Tunnel Mountain or Cave and Basin? A new user-friendly map and guide to the beauty of Banff National Park, published by Gem Trek as part of the National Parks Explorer Series, includes: facts and stats on the park and its main attractions; tales about the area’s native history and early mountaineers; a breakdown of the park’s eco-communities and the wildlife that reside in them; recommended hikes; and – for those who want to explore further – a detailed map of the entire park (the Icefields Parkway area, the Lake Louise area and the Banff area) as well as surrounding regions such as Bow Valley, Yoho and Kootenay parks. Although the map and guide is primarily targeted at tourists, it’s an essential reference for anyone who wants to better appreciate this national treasure. Swell maps on the Web Whether it’s a wild drive to the desert or a simple family vacation in the station wagon, summer marks the beginning of road trip season. While it’s easy to dream about hitting the open road with the top down and no particular place to go, most of us have some destination in mind and a common need for one thing – directions. Conventional maps are just too hard to fold, so what the road-ready traveler needs is a Web resource which can get them to where they want to go. Map Quest is a comprehensive site which provides maps and directions for almost anywhere in North America. While the site offers a huge variety of maps of every kind, its most useful feature is the direction finder. Simply plug in where you are and where you want to go and – presto! – directions and accompanying maps are on the screen. For the time being, Map Quest only lets you input specific street addresses for three Canadian cities (Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal), but it can still get you from one place to another all across the country. Happy driving – www.mapquest.com Free Stuff Tickets to the Vans Warped Tour and Summersault Tour, hundreds of dollars in gift certificates from The Brass Monocle, Blue Light Special, Purr, Escape and others, a round of golf for you and three buddies at Wintergreen, plus much more.... Who could possibly be giving away so much stuff? Fast Forward, of course. It's time again for Fast Forward’s Best of Calgary Readers Survey and all you have to do to be eligible to win one of these great prizes is vote. See the ballot in this week's issue for details. Jazz Festival Calgary wraps up this weekend, and Fast Forward wants one lucky winner to take in three of the best shows – Andy Milne at The Roxbury on Thursday, Los Mocosos at the Holiday Inn Ballroom on Friday, and NOJO at The Roxbury on Saturday. To enter, sends us an e-mail at ffwd@greatwest.ca before 3 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will be notified by e-mail and must pick up their tickets before 5 p.m. on Thursday. You could win a run-of-engagement pass to see the documentary Beyond the Mat, a behind-the-scenes look at professional wrestling showing exclusively at the Plaza Theatre. See ad for details. You and nine friends could win tickets to the exclusive "I Am Joe Canadian" party at Desperados on Wednesday, July 12. See ad for details. Free stuff can be picked up on Friday unless otherwise noted. Limit one item per person, and only those who have not won in the past four weeks, excluding movie passes, are eligible. Office hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

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