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On Friday January 13 at 6:30pm, the inaugural
Pursuits Film Festival hitsMeafordHall.A fundraiser
for the Pursuits Program—theGeorgianBay
Community School-basedoutdoor leadership
program for grades 11 and12 students—the Fest
will feature three acclaimedoutdoor-adventure
films plus a silent auction and a guest speaker.
Locked In
documents adangerous first kayak
descent of theBerimanGorge inPapuaNew
Guinea—a classVII run froma jungleheli-drop to
the Solomon Sea.The two-week, 13-gorge route
couldonly bepartially scoutedby air, placing the
kayakers—includingOttawanativeBennyMarr—in
harm’sway in themiddleof oneof theworld’smost
remote jungles. Last fall the kayakerswerehonoured
by
National Geographic
with theAdventurer of the
Year award for their daring expedition.
CrossingHome:A Skier’s Journey
is the finale
of Canadianphotographer/videographer Jordan
Manley’s globe-shreddingdocumentary series.After
excursions throughglobal ski cultures, Chad Sayers
and Forrest Coots goback to the beginning—British
Columbia. Embarkingon a 3-week expedition, they
boat, bushwhack, ski, andpackraft the spine of the
Coastmountains.What is themeaningof home?
A cast of characters helps us understandwhat that
word trulymeans.
Stand
tells the story of a community along the
remoteBC coast that banded together tooppose
Enbridge'sNorthernGateway oil pipeline project.
The story is presented from the point of viewof
paddleboarder NormHann,whopaddled400km
along the pristine coastline, tracing a proposed
tanker route fromKitimat toBellaBella.The
mosaic that comes into view represents all that the
community has to lose from the pipeline project—
with the clear implication that the losses far
outweigh any short-lived economic gain.
All the films complement the Pursuits
Programmantra“Leadership.
Adventure. Challenge.”Pursuits
students embark on various
outdoor excursions designed to let
them improve their tripping skills, leadership,
fitness, nutrition, and overall self-confidence.
Co-operative Education students of the Program
are creating their own video encompassing the
past 11 years of Pursuits, whichwill be viewed
throughout the evening in theMeafordHall Gallery.
Throughout the semester, Pursuits students
participate in leadershipplacements, extracurricular
activities, field trips, community service, and various
events. Students are facedwith intellectual,mental,
andphysical challenges todevelop the strength
anddiscipline they need to successfully adapt to a
changingworld.
Pursuits Program teacher andoutdoorsman Ian
Carrwill co-host the FestwithML Contributing
Editor NelsonPhillips.The evening also includes a
silent auction that begins at 6:30, door prizes, plus
a guest speaker: propaddleboardguide, adventurer
andBruce Peninsula resident Scott Parent,whowill
explain the importance of experiential education
and the role of exploration today,while sharing
slides of some of his pioneering achievements right
here onGeorgianBay.
Tickets are $20 and available atMeafordHall box
office
.The Festwill offer a no-
charge afternoonprogram for students fromBeaver
Valley Community andGeorgianBay Community
Schools beginning at 1:15pm, Friday January 13 at
MeafordHall.
PURSUITSFILMFESTIVALKICKSOFF
Ben Stookesberry en route to the Solomon Sea during themakingof
Locked In
. BENMARR/REDBULL CONTENT POOL
All the films complement the Pursuits Program
mantra “Leadership. Adventure. Challenge.”
