Another Good Source for Preseason Ski Excitement

By Dillon Tabish, 11-11-11

The weeks leading up to ski season can be torturous. The mountains sit there slowly gathering snow as we wax our skis for the tenth time this week. November might be the slowest month of the year.

Luckily, outdoor enthusiasts and recreationists have a few awesome upcoming events to bide the time with. There’s the Banff Mountain Film Festival being held at Flathead High School in Kalispell, Nov. 14 and 16.

There’s also the third annual Whitefish Mountain Films event on Sunday, Nov. 13, at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. Touted as a celebration of locally and renowned skiers, mountaineers and filmmakers, the event is a growing film festival free of charge. Doors open at 5:30 and films start at 6:30. Professional athletes Jamey Parks, Julian Carr and Chris Rubens are scheduled to attend this year.

Here’s the press release for the event. Definitely sounds like this will be worth checking out along with the Banff festival …

Whitefish – BlueBird Guides, a Whitefish-based backcountry ski guiding company, has announced the 3rdAnnual Whitefish Mountain Films will be held on November 13th, 2011. After exceeding capacity at Crush Wine Bar last year, WMF has moved to The O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, where amateur and professional mountain films will be screened. This year professional athletes Jamey Parks, Julian Carr, and Chris Rubens are slated to attend this event and introduce some of the industry’s most talked-about films.

The event is free and open to the public and all ages, with donations accepted. Local and corporate sponsors have donated to a raffle of goods and services. Raffle tickets can be purchased for $1 apiece at the event. All proceeds from the raffle and food and drink purchases will benefit trail projects of the First Best Place nonprofit organization Black Star Beer is sponsoring a beer garden.

“The way the Flathead has embraced our film event has been amazing – from the sponsors to the filmmakers and everyone who has attended,” says BlueBird Guides Owner Greg Franson. “I couldn’t be happier with the opportunity to grow this event into something on par with other regional film festivals.”

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