The Kenai Watershed Forum will be treating ticket holders to dinner and a show Saturday evening at Snug Harbor Seafoods, where it hopes a series of nationally acclaimed films will inspire the audience.
The Wild and Scenic Film Festival — “Where Activism Gets Inspired” — is an environmental- and adventure-themed film festival that takes place at locales across the country.
A Kenai Peninsula festival event, hosted by the Kenai Watershed Forum, will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday night at Snug Harbor Seafoods and feature 12 different films.
Tami Murray, Watershed development director, referred to the event as a “friend-raiser.”
“There were hundreds (of films) to choose from, and all will be outdoor environmental movies,” Murray said.
The Kenai Watershed Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving a healthy watershed of streams and rivers surrounding the Kenai and Soldotna communities. Saturday’s event will help raise funds for the organization’s educational programs. Murray said the ticket includes food and a brew from Cooper Landing Brewery, as well as a selection of wines from the Odom Corporation.
With its beginning in Grass Valley, California, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival reaches audiences at many community events across the country. Various filmmakers and amateur adventurers produce short films that typically tell a story to “inform, inspire and ignite solutions and possibilities to restore the earth and human communities while creating a positive future for the next generation,” according to the film festival website.
Ranging anywhere from two to 20 minutes, each film to be shown Saturday in Kenai was hand-picked by staff members from the Watershed Forum, and Murray said she hopes they will strike a familiar chord with guests.
“We chose films that touched on what we’re doing here in our area,” Murray said. “Some are just fun stories and others (showcase) issues that resonate with us. We’re just bringing that awareness to people.”
After staging the event at Snug Harbor last year, Murray said Watershed Forum returned to venue because of its ties to the area’s economic and cultural values.
“Using the seafood plant is a nice twist,” she said.
Tickets to Saturday’s event are $25, which includes food and beverages.
