Yes,
I’ve found that if you misspell someone’s name, they usually respond back so you know they read the post. An old journalism trick I pick up – yeah, that’s it, a journalism trick. Geary (with an e) From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 3:16 PM To: Geary Schindel Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Banff Mountain Film Festival 2009 Could that be Bob Burnett & Susan Souby? T May 4, 2009 02:43:41 PM, [email protected] wrote: Folks, I wanted to send out a short review of the Banff Mountain Film Festival, San Antonio, Texas showing last night (Sunday, May 3, 2009) at the Empire Theater. Susan Scoby and Bob Barnett were also there working for the film festival’s Texas Sponsor – Whole Earth Provisions (great folks). The Empire is an excellent venue for the film as it is a wonderfully restored, old theater located in downtown San Antonio. The Banff Mountain Film Festival tour is composed of a number of short films ranging from 6 minutes to about 55 minutes and covered a wide range of topics and adventures in the great outdoors. The films included extreme skiing, climbing, caving, mountain biking, and kayaking all the way to base jumping in one of the giant sinkholes in China. The entire festival ran almost 4 hours with a 15 minute intermission. The films were all outstanding and keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. I’ve been concerned that in this day and age of computers, MTV, and other distractions, young folks just weren’t getting out and doing the wild adventures I did in my youth – back when the men were iron and the ships were wood. However, these films show me that adventure is alive and is well fed by today’s youth. Whole Earth Provisions (the Austin and San Antonio outfitter) was the local sponsor of the event which also included a number of vendors such as Gore-Tex, Mountain Hardware, Dueter Packs, Smart Wool, and others. There were also a number of non-profits with tables including the Sierra Club, Last Chance Forever, and Mitchell Lake Audubon Center of San Antonio. There were some very nice birds of prey on exhibit just waiting to take out someone’s eye on command. I would suspect that the price of admission at $20 for adults and $16 for youths kept some folks away but it was an incredible bargain. First off, the films were worth every penny of the admission price and proceeds are used to support local conservation groups. But, to top it off, Whole Earth Provisions, AGAIN, showed its great support for the outdoor community by providing a $10 gift certificate for everyone who attended. In addition, Smart Wool was giving away a free pair of socks to everyone at the show. So, you ended up with about $25.00 worth of stuff AND a pair of socks that have a pretty high IQ. So, you basically made your money back. In addition, they had a number of excellent door prizes from the vendors that were present as well as a number of cool give-aways . Couple of recommendations, it could be a little better advertised. I think that San Antonio will show it’s support as word of mouth spreads about this fine program. It would also be nice if they didn’t hold it so close to college finals as I know that kept a few folks away – however, I understand they don’t always have a choice of when the films are available. The biggest recommendation is that they should get Kimberly-Clark as co-sponsors (KC is the manufacturer of Depends). I had already peed myself from the various bike stunts and rock climbing footage by the time the three guys did the base jump into the Chinese Sinkhole, I think about half the audience crapped themselves. So, if you missed the San Antonio showing. It is also playing tonight in Austin and I understand the Radical Reels, with all the serious thrill seeking footage, is tomorrow night. If you’re going to see the Radical Reels, I would definitely bring your own Depends and expect change them out during intermission. Great stuff and THANKS to Whole Earth Provisions and all the other sponsors for a great night out. Geary Schindel
