Woodard Properties is a proud sponsor of this event.
CONTACT: Jessica Cocciolone, Executive Director, Shenandoah National Park Trust | (434) 293-2728 / info@snptrust.org
The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival Returns In-Person to Charlottesville
Special kickoff event features Earl B. Hunter Jr., Founder and President of Black Folks Camp Too
The Shenandoah National Park Trust (SNPT) is proud to host the beloved Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival for the 7th straight year. The festival features the world’s best short films on mountain sports and mountain culture, highlighting the diversity of these wild landscapes and of those who dare to explore them. If you’ve ever dreamed of paragliding from mountaintops, skiing white powder in the Alps, trekking with a sled dog, or scaling sheer rock faces, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival is your place to live those dreams — without leaving your seat!
The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival takes place at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 6th and 7 p.m. Monday, March 7th at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Va. Tickets can be purchased through the Paramount Theater’s website: www.theparamount.net. A different selection of films will be shown each night. Attendees are eligible to win raffle prizes, including items from Great Outdoor Provision Co., REI, Rhoback, Albemarle Cannabis Company, and ORVIS; outdoor experiences from Shenandoah Mountain Guides; gift certificates to Well Room, Rivanna River Company, Belle Meade Bed & Breakfast, and Blue Ridge Cyclery; and more.
“The Trust loves hosting Banff in Charlottesville each year,” said Executive Director Jessica Cocciolone. “It’s a community-building event that brings like-minded individuals together to celebrate outdoor recreation, conservation, preservation, and our natural world — all while helping to raise funds for our beloved Shenandoah National Park. It’s an opportunity to do good and have fun!”
For the first time this year, SNPT will host an invitation-only kickoff event on Thursday, February 10th, underwritten by Great Outdoor Provision Co. The featured guest speaker is Earl B. Hunter Jr., Founder and President of Black Folks Camp Too.
Hunter founded Black Folks Camp Too (www.blackfolkscamptoo.com) in 2019 to increase diversity in the outdoor industry by making it easier, more interesting, more familiar, and more fun for Black people to go camping. By building bridges with the outdoor recreation industry, as well as state and local governments and non-profit nature and advocacy organizations, BFCT is making outdoor spaces welcoming and uplifting for all people.
“We’re removing generational fear, we’re adding more knowledge, and we’re inviting more Black folks to camp and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle for any- and everyone,” Hunter said.
SNPT is honored to bring Hunter to Charlottesville and looks forward to working with Black Folks Camp Too in the future. As the official philanthropic partner of Shenandoah National Park, SNPT invests in programs and initiatives which help ensure that Shenandoah remains a national treasure for all to enjoy, for generations to come. One of SNPT’s signature events, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival raises money to support that mission and inspires people everywhere to preserve and protect natural spaces.
We are thankful for the support from the following sponsors: Great Outdoor Provision Co., Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Investment Research Partners, 3D EnviroLogics, Rocky Top Climbing, Davenport & Company, UVA Community Credit Union, Grelen Nursery, Woodard Properties, Well Room, Wegmans, Blue Ridge Cyclery, Blue Ridge Poison Center, Piedmont Environmental Council, Albemarle Cannabis Company, Taylor Odom, Attorney at Law, TING, Plow & Hearth, Cheri Woodard Realty, and C-VILLE Weekly. We are also grateful for the dedicated efforts of SNPT’s volunteers, who first brought the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival to Charlottesville and have sustained it ever since.
For more information, please visit the event website, www.snptrust.org/Banff2022, or contact Emily Digney, (434) 293-2728 or edigney@snptrust.org.