The Wild & Scenic Film Festival returns to Sandpoint

SANDPOINT - The Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival, the largest environmental and adventure film festival in North America, is back in Sandpoint for two action-packed nights.

The film festival will take place tonight and Saturday at the Panida Theater.

Sponsored by the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy, with funding from Patagonia, the festival's award-winning outdoor adventure films are sure to entertain, educate and inspire.

Wild & Scenic focuses on films which speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of our planet. These films illustrate the Earth's beauty, the outdoor adventures waiting to be experienced, the challenges facing our planet and the work communities are doing to protect the environment. They will instill a deep appreciation and a sense of wonder for the natural world that surrounds and supports us.

"Films featured at Wild & Scenic give people a sense of place," said Kyler Wolf, event coordinator. "In our busy lives, it's easy to get disconnected from our role in the global ecosystem. When we realize that the changes we need in this world begins with us, we can start making a difference. Come watch and see."

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is a natural extension of the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy's work to inspire people to act on behalf of the environment. As the region's local land trust that operates out of Sandpoint, the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy works to protect the Inland Northwest's spectacular lands and waterways, recreational opportunities, working farms, ranches and wildlife habitat.

The event includes a "choose-your-prize" raffle with items generously donated by local businesses: an Outdoor Research Gore-Tex jacket from Mountain Essentials, a Bern helmet from 7B Board Shop, a backpack from REI, a Mountain Hardware jacket from Finan McDonald, an 8-foot picnic table from Northwest Handmade, a kayak paddle from Alpine Shop, outdoor gear from Outdoor Experience, gift baskets from Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters, gift certificates from Sports Plus, Babs' Pizzeria, All Seasons Garden & Floral, and much more! Also, door prizes from the festival's national and regional sponsors will be given away each night of the festival.

There will be a chance to enter the "Supporters-only Grand Prize Drawing" for two seats on a Selkirk Powder Company cat trip this coming winter, as well as a silent auction each night for a Shotz Ski.

A no-host bar featuring beer from Eichardt's and locally crafted wine from Pend d'Oreille Winery will be available.

Doors for the festival open each evening at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 each night ($12 at the door), or purchase a $30 CFPOC Patron Pass and receive tickets for both nights and entry into the supporters-only grand prize drawing for the backcountry cat trip.

For more information about the CFPOC and the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, and to purchase festival tickets online, visit: www.cfpoconservancy.org. Tickets can also be purchased at: Eichardt's Pub, Outdoor Experience and Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters in Sandpoint; and REI in Spokane.