Grab your skis and a buddy and get ready for some serious fun! SOLE’s Annual Fundraiser – the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival celebrates its 11th Anniversary! This community event is aimed to inspire winter adventurers to seek the snow less traveled, while bringing critical awareness of the work we, and others, are doing during the winter months throughout the Inland Northwest. Produced by the Boise-based nonprofit, Winter Wildlands Alliance, the Backcountry Film Festival makes its world premiere in Boise, Idaho and will then tour to more than 100 showings around the world, including a stop in good ‘ole Sandpoint, Idaho!
Location: Panida Theater | Sandpoint, Idaho
Date: December 4th, 2015
Time: Doors: 6:00 PM | Show: 7:00 PM
Tickets: $10 General Admission ADV; $12 DOS | $20 Donation Ticket (includes 3 raffle tickets)
This annual event is a community favorite! With a series of award-winning and juried films, all which celebrate the human-powered experience, a great silent auction with great holiday gifts from local vendors and gear vendors like Big Agnes and G3, fun raffle prizes, and great local brews this is a family-fun experience tailored to showcase our great community!
What makes this showing unique? Well, it’s really simple we earmark ALL event proceeds directly towards supporting SOLE’s SnowSchool Experience SM Program at Schweitzer Mountain and beyond. Your support allows us to get local area youth out on the snow to explore > achieve > lead through this transformational experiential education program. Event proceeds will continue to provide essential gear, logistical support, and teaching supplies.
This showing of the Backcountry Film Festival will be of special importance. Centered on our mission to provide transformational experiences outdoors for local area youth, SOLE will continue to host this event to raise critical funds for our SnowSchool Experience SM Field Campus at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, as well as pilot programs at other site locations. Currently, SnowSchool Experiences SM are offered for all 5th graders in Lake Pend Oreille School District, and will be expanded to include programming services for Lake Pend Oreille High School and Clark Fork Junior High School / High School Outdoor Track which will be highlighted during this year’s event as an effort to bring awareness to this program and our communities educational needs. In addition, SOLE works with other private, public, and homeschool groups throughout the winter at various other field campus sites in the Inland Northwest.
During the 2015-16 school year SOLE aims to work with 300 + local area youth in SnowSchool Experience SM program. With an average poverty rate of 60 – 97 % at most area schools our financial needs are noteworthy.
The Backcountry Film Festival is renowned for its mix of professional and grassroots films – from well-known filmmakers who search backcountry corners across the globe to submit their best work to first-timers who take a video camera out on their weekend excursions. The festival was created in 2004 to highlight Winter Wildlands Alliance’s efforts to preserve and promote winter landscapes for human-powered users. From a single showing in Boise that first year, the festival has grown to include showings in locations throughout the United States and Canada and now in Antarctica, Europe, Australia and Asia. Funds raised stay in local communities to support like-minded, human-powered recreation and conservation efforts and to raise awareness of winter management issues, avalanche training/safety and winter education programs. Come take the ride and support a great cause while doing so!
The Line-Up
Film Descriptions:
- Japan by Van immerses us in the head-deep powder of the Shirakawa backcountry. A Sweetgrass Productions film.
- Shared Lines features the story of Vermont Backcountry Alliance and their community in a short film by T-Bar Films.
- Shifting Ice, from filmmaker Kt Miller, is an all-women team on a journey at the intersection of scientific exploration and, of course, grueling fun.
- The Weight of Winter, filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski brings us a ride to tune in, sit back, and enjoy.
- I Love Splitboarding, a fresh way to play in the backcountry along with a fresh way of living. A film by Right on Brother opens up the world of splitboarding.
- 55 Hours in Mexico, in true tribute to weekend warriors, Joey, Karl, Thomas, and filmmaker Max Lowe take us on an adventure of 55 Hours in Mexico.
- Always Above Us, gives us a glimpse of the tremendous amount of sacrifice and hardship involved in the life of a climber. Sherpas Cinema follows Kris Erickson and Conrad Anker in a memoir for David Bridges and Alex Lowe.
- Connections, the Dynafit team shares the story of the simple “low tech” design that changed the face of backcountry skiing.
- The Forecaster, expert Avalanche Forecaster Drew Hardesty leads by example, paying respect to the responsibility that comes with our backcountry freedom. From Spindle Productions.
Tickets:
Advance ticket purchase is recommended. SOLE offers 2 ticket levels for this event:
- $10 Advance General Admission Ticket (includes 1 raffle ticket); $12 DOS
- $20 Donation Ticket (includes 3 raffle tickets – and puts a local area youth on the snow for a day!)
Tickets will be available at the following local businesses: Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters, Alpine Shop, Eichardt’s, and the Panida Theater and online SOON!
Can’t go? Make a donation today!
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Sponsorship:
Let’s face it – there is no better way to showcase your business or organization than to become a Backcountry Film Festival or SnowSchool Experience SM Program Sponsor! Intentional programming of this magnitude is downright expensive, as is hosting fundraising events like the Backcountry Film Festival. As such, SOLE offers several sponsorship options to ensure that we are able to funnel event proceeds directly towards program expenses to provide these transformational experiential programs for our local area youth. As a result of your support, we are able to unplug and reconnect more local area youth to the outdoors to explore > achieve > lead!
Corporations, businesses, and individuals can also sponsor a specific student, class, school, youth program or entire SnowSchool Experience SM Field Campus by providing in-kind and/or financial support! This allows you to have the benefit of doing some good for our youth while getting some exposure for your business! If you are interested in any of these options or to learn more please contact us or view our Backcountry Film Festival Sponsorship Packet to showcase your business while doing some good!
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