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Jasper Entertainment & Nightlife

CAFES AND NIGHTLIFE

The best of the cafes the small, nonsmoking Coco’s Cafe at 608 Patricia St: inexpensive and vaguely trendy, with newspapers and magazines to pass the time over excellent snacks and coffees. A short distance away, on the upper level of the small “mall” at 610 Patricia St, Spooner’s (tel 852-4046) is also a good place for the usual café drinks and snacks - it has outdoor terrace seating and a bright, airy interior with rooftop and mountain views. Coffee and computer fiends might also head to the Soft Rock Internet Café in Connaught Square, a mini “mall” at 633 Connaught Drive. Turn left after the station for the utilitarian but very cheap Smitty’s Restaurant , where you can drink coffee and write postcards all day.

Most drinking goes on in the Atha-B lounge at the Athabasca Hotel , 510 Patricia St, where the “nightclub” annexe has dancing and live music most nights, though things can get pretty rowdy. For something more relaxed, try Pete’s bar, upstairs at 614 Patricia St, enter through the nondescript black door - once inside, it’s big and bustling, with a laid-back young crowd. Another unpretentious locals’ hangout is the Astoria ‘s De’d Dog Bar at 404 Connaught Drive, which attracts more of a thirtyish crowd, with big-screen TV, music, darts and food. The bar in Whistler’s Inn opposite the station has an old-style wooden bar and lots of memorabilia. If you want a more smoochy evening, the Bonhomme Lounge at the Château Jasper , 96 Geikie St, has a harpist most nights. The Chaba Theatre is a first-run cinema directly opposite the station. Nightlife generally is low-key: most of the campsites and motels are too far out of town for people to get in, and the fun is generally of the make-your-own variety out at hostels or campsites. Every second year (even years) the town hosts the Jasper Heritage Folk Festival with performers from across North America playing in Centennial Park.

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                  * Region: Alberta
* Geography: Northern Hemisphere