| The Arts
When has winter ever deterred Michiganders?
We always find a way to make the best of it, like diving (or jumping, running, climbing, or swimming) into the third annual Mountainfilm on Tour — Saugatuck Film Festival throughout the month of March, brought to you by the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.
The festival celebrates adventure and the indomitable human spirit through a powerful digital film festival experience plus exciting outdoor activities for everyone.
The pandemic has changed the way we celebrate, gather, and create, but it can never stop the need to tell stories, seek adventure, and try to make the world a better place.
The Mountainfilm festival provides an opportunity to look into different cultures, narratives, and experiences that you may not see otherwise.
Mountainfilm on Tour — Saugatuck Film Festival starts with the 19th annual Children’s Film Festival, which for the first time is available to schools in classrooms or virtually online.
Through the partnership with Mountainfilm, the Saugatuck Center for the Arts offers teachers age-appropriate films that share inspiring stories from around the world, plus carefully created post-film curriculum to continue learning long after the films are over.
Educators who are interested in participating in the Children’s Film Festival can register for this program on the SCA website, sc4a.org.
The festival then continues with two weekends of powerful Mountainfilm playlists brought to your home or to a watch party with friends.
These two playlists — themed collections of documentary films — are compiled with unforgettable lineups featuring “hard-chargers” who didn’t give up, back down, or let their challenges define them.
The “Adventure: Stories of Impact” playlist is full of high energy, heart-pumping action shown in 12 epic short films.
“The Medley: Environmentally Inspired” playlist celebrates wild places, spaces, people, and animals that inhabit our big, green world through short films and longer features. Go to sc4a.org to learn more and purchase online access to either or the playlists.
To add to this already enriching program, the SCA has partnered with the Outdoor Discovery Center to cultivate creative, thought-provoking, and interactive experiences with the Family Film Box.
This special offering is new this year and combines an awesome digital playlist with inspiring stories, unique outdoor experiences and hands-on activities to do together.
Also, Mountainfilm on Tour — Saugatuck Film Festival has always featured more than just film, and this year is no different. Anyone can join in the community-wide scavenger hunt and get inspired by the fabulous West Michigan environment.
The Scavenger Hunt stretches across the colorful, creative communities of Saugatuck, Douglas, and Fennville and is full of interesting, captivating experiences waiting to be discovered with prizes for winners.
The festival is made possible by generous donations, with thanks to Gold Sponsors: Perrigo, Roger and Anne Gamache, Landsharks, Andy Knight and Beau Gratzer; Silver Sponsors: Barbara and John Ludlow; and In-Kind Sponsors: Uncommon Coffee Roasters, Saugatuck Brewing Co., Outdoor Discovery Center, Farmhouse Deli, Modales Winery, and Borrowed Time.
— Megan Scheerhorn is marketing project manager for the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, which is dedicated to building a vibrant creative community in West Michigan through professional theater, exhibitions, films, concerts, and educational programming year-round.
About this series
Living Sustainably is a collection of community voices sharing updates about local sustainability initiatives.
This Week’s Sustainability Framework Theme
Community Knowledge: The collective knowledge and energy of the community is an incredible resource that must be channeled to where it is needed.
