Your throat might get wet, but the rest of you probably won’t when Animas River Days kicks off tonight.
The annual Movie Night, held in conjunction with the festival, will feature a diverse array of topics, with the theme being “celebrate local wild rivers.”
Doors at the Smiley Building Theater, 1309 East Third Ave., will open at 5:30 p.m. with food available from Zia Taqueria and beverages from Ska Brewing and Zuberfizz. The films will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.
A series of local-interest films will be shown on stand-up paddling, local creeking (running steep, shallow water), Durango’s Whitewater Park and Dolores fisheries.
“There’s some pretty amazing local films and amazing local connections that make for a pretty awesome festival,” said Kent Ford, coordinator of Movie Night.
Other films will include canoe paddling with kids, profiles on women paddlers, shorts on the Grand Canyon and a short on rebuilding Lyons after last September’s floods.
The movie “Dream,” by award-winning director Skip Armstrong, who has won awards at the Banff and Telluride festivals, features a newbie who daydreams himself to stardom.
Two featured films are about a river trip with kids and a self-supported kayak trip in the Himalayas.
“Have Kids, Will Paddle,” features a couple with 5- and 3-year-old kids on a 100-day adventure from Jasper, Alberta, to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories.
“Alone on the River” features five world-class paddlers who strike out in the Himalayas and face multiple challenges. They drop 14,400 feet in elevation over a 300-mile journey.
Proceeds from the evening will benefit the San Juan Citizens Alliance.
johnp@durangoherald.com
