Usually gay pride events are held under the rays of the beaming sun with lots of skin showing, but this is one pride festival where wearing mittens and toques is worth it.

Now in its 21st year, Winter Pride 2013 in beautiful Whistler, BC is bigger and better than ever.

Snow, snowboarding, skiing, luging, bungee jumping, dog sledding, yoga, dancing, culinary and of course drinking and flirting; Winter Pride 2013 has something for everyone.

Festival producer Dean Nelson has been pioneering the show for the past seven years, crafting it from a more male-and-ski-centric event to being more female-friendly (dyke marches and lesbian dances) with other non-ski events, much to its success.

"It’s a lot of fun and I think we’ve made something that there really is something for everyone, especially the last couple of years," Nelson says. "We’re continuing to grow the event and it’s been really successful."

Perhaps a strong sign of that success is a 75 per cent guest return rate, which is astonishing considering over 3,000 people attend the week-long event annually.

"We have a lot of people that travel here from all over the world and make it their big winter vacation. We cater to people that are able to travel and sometimes our visitors are coming from places of conflict where maybe they can’t be out and proud at home," Nelson says.

He says gay couples can say they’re going skiing in Whistler without setting off alarm bells for others, as opposed to high profile gay destinations such as San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta. And best of all, Nelson says, is the town and town council are very supportive, even flying a pride flag at municipal hall and making proclamations.

"Here [guests] can let their hair down and have a great time in a safe and inviting environment where they meet other people."

In fact, Nelson says, many visitors have even met their life partners at the closely-knit festival, often returning many times before eventually getting married in the ski town, too.

"And this year, we’ve noticed a lot of people are registering for the first time because they’ve heard such great things about the event, so it’s a really exciting time for us. We love the community environment and the friendships people make."

The eight-day event features 65 various events visitors can take part in.

"There’s so much to do. People can do as much as they want or as little as they want and have a really amazing time," Nelson adds.

And there are still great deals to be had, but don’t wait too long Nelson warns, because the vacancies will fill up soon.

Whistler is offering a five-night, four-day ski package for around $114 a night per person, which includes lift tickets and accommodations. By comparison, last minute ski lift passes can go for as high as $112 a day.

"I think if people are on the fence and need that extra little push to get off of the fence, the ski packages are a really great deal," he says.