Blog Post by Tera Swanson
The Bow Valley celebrated International Mountain Day in true grassroots style. Through the combined efforts of Crowfoot Media, the Canadian Mountain Network, artsPlace, and the Banff Mountain Film Festival, Life @ Altitude brought together locals of all ages to enjoy an evening of talks, presentations, and films, all centred around a common passion: mountains. The sense of close-knit community was immediately evident at the event, but this is nothing new for artsPlace. The community arts centre in Canmore is a mecca of creative opportunity to connect Bow Valley residents and visitors, from workshops to films, exhibits to events.
Life @ Altitude drew in a full house to artsPlace the evening of December 11th. Guests hung on the words of the event’s speakers, including Meghan Ward’s interview with long-distance hiker Leslie Gerein, and Brian Van Tighem’s presentation of his book Heart Water: Sources of the Bow River, a collaborated effort with his father and author Brian Van Tighem. Featured films came from Yukon to Canmore, leaving the audience with new points of view to consider, and a renewed appreciation for the peaks and valleys they call home.
Photo by Tyler Parker
Meghan Ward interviews Leslie Gerein. Photo by Tyler Parker
One of several events that took place in celebrating International Mountain Day, Life @ Altitude paid tribute to these landscapes in the most fitting way – through sharing stories and bringing communities together.
This event was part of the Canadian Mountain Network’s 2016 Mountain Festival, made possible through the generous support of the University of Alberta faculty of Science, the University of Alberta faculty of Arts, NSERC, Campbell Scientific Canada, Canadian North, and Marmot Basin. Search #IMD2016CMN to find live-tweets and posts from the 2016 Mountain Festival!
See the Canadian Mountain Network’s YouTube channel for more Mountain Festival videos!