Oct. 7, as Sara Hamil refreshed her email for nearly the hundredth time, a message popped into her inbox. She only read one word before she screamed and threw her hands in the air, sending papers flying.
Then she sent a frantic, all-caps text message to her blogging partner Candice MacAulay: we鈥檙e off to Jasper.
The duo from Ontario, who submitted a creative YouTube video about why they should be Tourism Jasper鈥檚 social media gurus for the Dark Sky Festival, had just won the second annual Star Correspondent contest.
Tourism Jasper put on the contest to give a social-media-savvy reporter or, in this case, two social-media-savvy reporters the opportunity to come to town and cover the festival from Oct. 25鈥�27.
Now that Jasper鈥檚 marketing agency has its winners, it is organizing an all-expense paid Jasper adventure for Hamil and MacAulay, who will report on the festival through Tourism Jasper鈥檚 social media outlets.
Kymberley Hill, who represents Tourism Jasper, says she is excited to give people an opportunity to experience the festival in a unique way: through the eyes of new visitors to town.
It鈥檚 even better, she said, that those visitors are incredibly enthusiastic and have a knack for storytelling.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really impressed with [Hamil and MacAulay鈥檚] energy and their excitement to come to Jasper,鈥� Hill said.
For her part, Hamil is still digesting the news.
鈥淲e had spent the entire day on pins and needles,鈥� Hamil remembered of the day the duo got the news.
In a phone interview Oct 9, the two self-professed nerds giggled as they recalled the contest. Talking over one another, they explained how they constantly 鈥済eek out鈥� with one another. MacAulay said her geeky side certainly made its way into their contest bid.
鈥淚鈥檓 that nerd who goes on YouTube and watches astronomy lectures,鈥� she said with a laugh, adding that it鈥檚 her dream to someday be best friends with astrophysicist and 鈥渘erd hero鈥� Neil deGrasse Tyson.
For Hamil, the trip is above all about returning to Jasper. She first visited when she was a kid and remembers being 鈥渄umbstruck鈥� by the massive glaciers and the beautiful and terrifying scale of the wilderness around her.
The experience made such an impact on her, years later she even named her dog after the town.
In a little over a week, the two will land in town, ready to share their passion and enthusiasm. Follow #myjasperdarksky to hear what they have to say.
Trevor Nichols
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