Mancos Valley Resources and will hold film fest on June 29-30

Events benefit nonprofits in county
This year’s schedule for the Mancos Valley River Film Festival includes a presentation by the Mancos Trails Group on local projects. It will be held at Outlier Cidery on June 29.

Mancos Valley Resources, in partnership with sponsors Alpacka Raft, Specialized Bicycles and Osprey Packs, will hold the second annual Mancos Valley River Film Festival on June 29-30.

All proceeds will support local nonprofits in Montezuma County.

Last year’s event raised $9,600 to benefit the 100 Western Excelsior employees who lost their jobs when the Mancos plant burned down in May 2017. The money was funneled through two Mancos Valley Resources projects: Mancos Food Share and Mancos Pay It Forward.

This year, funds will be split between MVR and the Mancos Trails Group, an organization that seeks to enhance the hiking, biking and river trails in Mancos.

The schedule for Friday, June 29, includes a presentation by Mancos Trails Group on local projects, and a multimedia show by Ashley Carruth on “Bikepacking Through the Bears Ears National Monument.” It is a free event at Outlier Cidery in Mancos.

On Saturday night, short films will be featured – on urban bike rafting in Portland, fly fishing in Wyoming and Alaska, and mountain biking in British Columbia, packrafting in India.

American Rivers author Sinjin Eberle will talk about the 5,000 Miles of Wild Campaign, an effort to preserve 5,000 river miles and gather 5,000 river stories.

Conservation films will include the “Blue Heart: The Fight to Save Europe’s Last Wild Rivers,” along with a short film about Dolores River conservation efforts. Film Night will be held at the Mancos Opera House.