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Support local work on watershed with the Wild & Scenic Film Festival Thursday

Get out or stay in, but enjoy the Wild and Scenic Film Festival this weekend while supporting the work of the Middle Colorado Watershed Council.

“Our audience comes together to share their love of the river, to laugh, to cry and to get excited about how they can join MCWC in its mission to evaluate, protect and enhance the health of our watershed,” Bailey Leppek, the outreach and committee chair, wrote in an email.

The fundraiser takes place Thursday at the Vaudeville Theatre in Glenwood Springs and then on Oct. 1 at the Ute Theater in Rifle.



“So, this kind of event really supports our operation and helps also with matching funds for grants,” said Paula Stepp, the executive director for the Middle Colorado Watershed Council. “So, there’s different ways that we use it just to keep us viable and sustainable.”

The Middle Colorado Watershed Council’s mission is to enhance and protect the middle section of the Colorado River watershed that runs through Garfield County. 



The film festival helps to support all of the projects the council works on from Glenwood to De Beque, and, lately, the council has put emphasis on restoration of Grizzly Creek for the past two years after the fire. 

Projects the council has been working on that will be supported through the film festival include: a boat ramp in Silt; Glenwood Canyon Restoration Alliance activities; a customized database for each town to track changes in water quality monitoring; working on water rights and restoration efforts for the Silt Preserve; and collaborating on pre-wildfire mitigation efforts.

“At the Film Festival, we share beautiful independent films that inform and inspire people to take action,” Lappek said.

There will be about 10 films in a two-hour period that range from a film on a company in Flagstaff that makes dories to a film about the community of Craig grappling with evolving from a fossil-fuel past to what’s next and what they can be doing, Stepp said. 

“We really try to keep it in reference to the kind of work that we do here on the watershed,” she said. 

If it’s not possible to make it in person, the Film Festival will also be streamed all weekend, starting on Thursday and running through Oct. 5.

There will be door prizes and an auction for a backpack bundle from REI at the Vaudeville event and an auction for a solar RV charger from Atlastar Solar Center at the Ute event.

To purchase tickets, visit midcowatershed.org.

“The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is Middle Colorado’s largest fundraiser of the year, and it’s almost entirely organized by volunteer hours from our amazing Outreach and Education Committee and our Board members. Please join us for this fun community event,” Leppek said.

If you go…

What: Wild and Scenic Film Festival

Where: Vaudeville Theater, at 915 Grand Ave. Glenwood Springs 

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29

How much: $20

Also …

Where: Ute Theater, at 132 E. 4th St. Rifle

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1

How much: $20

Stream online thru Wednesday

Purchase all tickets here

Movie Line-upDescriptions
One Star Reviews of National Park

America’s National Parks are some of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s even said that they are America’s best idea. Well… unfortunately for some, there’s still room for improvement!
Can’t Beat This Place for Fun

Flagstaff’s Fretwater Boatworks defines the process, and deep conservation legacy, of building Grand Canyon dory’s – with fun at every bend.
Craig, America

A small town, like so many, grapples with evolving from a fossil fuel past to a more sustainable future
Civil Society: Not On Our Soil – A Climate Justice Reality

The community of the notoriously polluted South Durban fights for a democracy that is for the people – and by the people.
Finding Salmon

Follow 11-year-old, Keyona, into a wondrous world of trees, water, and friendly fish… and find the spirit of Salmon Watch, a program that connects Oregon youth to their backyard river ecosystems.
Maneuvers

“Maneuvers (Manöver)” is an experimental animation combining skiing with stop-motion animation
Denizens of the Steep

Denizens of the Steep explores the intersection of backcountry recreation and the conservation of an iconic species of bighorn sheep in Grand Teton National Park.
Ghost Ponds

A grassroots movement seeks to reverse biodiversity loss by recovering a lost feature of the landscape… ghost ponds.
The Fish & The Flame

When a supposedly extinct fish resurfaces in the path of oncoming wildfire, a Colorado biologist braves the flames on a daring rescue mission.

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