BY KAREN BOSSICK
Films showcasing the ski talents of hometown heroes near and dear to the Wood River Valley will be shown on the big screen Friday when Hailey Homegrown premieres at The Liberty Theater on Friday.
Hailey Homegrown, a benefit for Rotarun Ski Area and the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, will start at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19. The 90-minute program is being held in partnership with the Homegrown film Festival and will feature a slightly shorter program of Homegrown classics, said Liz Chamberlain.
Tickets are $10 purchased in advance at https://www.libertytheaterhailey.com/ and $15 the day of the screening.
“We’ll focus on locally-shot, locally made films aired over the past decade,” said Chamberlain. “Our goal is to bring the community together ahead of Christmas break and Rotarun's opening weekend, all while raising a little money for our two non-profit organizations.”
Some of the athletes that will appear on the screen include Elliot and Will Burks, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Devo and Skimo Coach Jackson Long, St. Luke's Wood River nurse and professional skier Lucy Sackbauer and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation snowboard team member Charlie Eddie. Look also for Nomadic Vans and Sun Valley Mustard up on the big screen.
The Liberty Theater is the original birthplace of the Homegrown Film Festival, according to Tina Cole. It started as a fundraiser put on by the Sawtooth National Avalanche Center, which commissioned Jack Weekes to create an image for the poster. He chose the Boy Scout Couloir that year and has hand-screened a new image every year for the Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center to sell to raise money to support its four forecasters.
“The first showing in 2016 was legendary, with more than 300 people turning out in a blizzard and packing the sold-out theater,” recounted Cole. “The crowd stayed and partied in the lobby, spilling out onto Main Street and draining 12 kegs from Sawtooth Brewery, with viewers rotating through seats in the theater or sitting three to a chair to watch.”
Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center will be on hand Friday night selling Weekes’ serigraphs from this and past years, along with other goodies. There also will be a raffle.
Rotarun Ski Area, meanwhile, just installed a new Magic Carpet to enhance the experience of beginners at “the little mountain with a big heart.” It has been making snow and hopes to open Dec. 26.
The mountain offers affordable lift tickets for families. And it hosts the Rota-Rippers afterschool program, which offers about 120 kids ages 5 through 11 the chance to learn to ski and ride free of charge. Some of those kids have advanced into higher-level programs, such as LASAR and the SVSESF Snowboard team.