SUN VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL HOSTS PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND EVENT

Three events taking place Presidents’ Day weekend preclude this year’s Sun Valley Film Festival, which will be held March 29–April 2 at various locations throughout the Wood River Valley.

Free or low-cost admission makes event accessible to local community

By HAYDEN SEDER

Over two days of Presidents’ Day weekend, the Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF) is putting on three events at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum. These events are a great precursor to the actual Film Festival, taking place March 29–April 2, 2023.

The weekend will kick off on Sunday, Feb. 19, with an encore screening of National Geographic Documentary Films’ Fire of Love at the Argyros at 2:30 p.m. An extraordinary love story of French scientists Katie and Maurice Krafft, this film captures spectacular imagery of their greatest passion: volcanoes. The Academy Award-nominated film for Best Documentary Feature is directed by Sara Dosa and narrated by Miranda July. The screening will be accompanied by a Q&A with associate producer Elijah Stevens. Admission is free and open to the public, though priority access will be given to 2023 festival passholders.

Following the Fire of Love screening is “Movie Night in Sun Valley” with Boise State Public Radio and Morning Edition’s George Prentice. Described by Festival founder and executive director Teddy Grennan as a “film geek society” night, the event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Argyros and will be a fun, fast-paced showcase of the most talked about (and sometimes debated) films of the season. There will be some exclusive moments with the year’s most celebrated storytellers and a sneak peek at what the 2023 Film Festival will bring. With prizes, games, and plenty of surprises, it promises to be a fun night! General admission is $10 or included with the purchase of a 2023 festival patron pass.

The final event of the weekend is a SVFFirst Look of the third season of Outer Banks. Festival attendees to the 2022 event will remember the cast of Outer Banks in attendance and the many events throughout town the cast participated in. On Monday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Argyros, there will be an advance screening of the third season of the show followed by a Q&A with show actor Charles Esten, creator/ showrunner/executive producer Josh Pate, and producer Sunny Hodge. Admission is free and open to the public for this event, though priority access is given to 2023 festival passholders.

The Presidents’ Day weekend series of events is a continuation of the SVFF’s seasonal programming that takes place throughout the year. Other recent seasonal programming includes two special screenings in December 2022 of Women Talking and Wildcat, which the director Trevor Frost was in attendance for. In January of this year, there was an SVFFirst Look screening of Bruiser followed by a Q&A with director Miles Warren.

Grennan explains that these events aren’t just for people visiting or who come specifically for a film festival event. “We want people who are visiting Sun Valley to be aware of the film fest, but also for people to know that there’s other things to do on top of everything else the Valley has to offer.”

With such an amazing lineup of events, it’s somewhat surprising that admission is either free or low-cost to this slate of programming. But for Grennan and the SVFF, it’s important to make sure the festival and many of its events remain accessible to the local community. “Our Coffee Talks are free, so it’s in that spirit that we wanted to keep costs low,” Grennan explains. “We want people to come and take the time to visit. These sneak peeks—it’s us sharing with the town.”

Following in that spirit, the SVFF has created a new program to make participation in the festival more accessible to high school and college students. Student passes, priced at $75 for the festival, include admission to five festival films, the Screenwriters Lab, the Sun Valley Junior Film Competition screening, and meet-and-greet events. Festival supporters also have the ability to sponsor a student through the “pass it forward” program for local students.

Passes for the Film Festival are on sale now and often sell out, so be sure to get them now so you can have continued access to the high-caliber films and events put on by SVFF. Grennan says there’s an unbelievable lineup of films for this year, in addition to amazing filmmakers, events, parties, bands, and more!

PUBLISHER

Christopher Seldon (208) 788-4789 publisher@woodriverweekly.com

MARKETING & SALES

Mandi Iverson (208) 721-7588 mandi@woodriverweekly.com

NEWS EDITOR news@woodriverweekly.com

CALENDAR calendar@woodriverweekly.com

COPY EDITOR

Patty Healey

PRODUCTION &

Mandi Iverson mandi@woodriverweekly.com

Christopher Seldon chris@woodriverweekly.com

ACCOUNTING accounting@woodriverweekly.com

DEADLINES

Nordic Ski Events Results

Billy Goat Loppet

Winter in Idaho’s Wood River Valley means lots of snow and plenty of ways to enjoy it, including unique events like the annual Wood River Extreme Ski Joring Races, set to take place February 18-19, 2023, in Bellevue, Idaho.

Produced by the Wood Extreme Ski Joring Association (WRESJA), this event features cowboys with their fast horses racing with brave skiers and snowboarders and promises a weekend of fast-action fun that the whole family will enjoy. Ski Joring is a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog or a motor vehicle. It is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning “ski driving”. In the Wood River Valley horses are used. A successful run of this race means crossing the finish line of the 600-900-foot course with the skier having executed one to three jumps ranging from three to six feet high and grabbing from three to nine rings. The rider must also grab a ring. Points are deducted for missed or dropped rings and missed jumps. Speed – which often reaches 40 miles per hour – is a factor. Winners are based on the combined overall score for both days. This year the WRESJA races will also feature a couple’s division and stick horse races for 10 & under.

The WRESJA races will take place at 81 Browning Lane in Bellevue on Saturday, February 18 and Sunday, February 19, starting at 12noon each day. There is an admission fee of $10 per spectator, children 12 and under are free, and a portion of the fees with be donated to the Wood River High School Rodeo Team. Please bring your lawn chairs but no dogs. This family-friendly weekend event will also feature concessions at the races, a raffle to support a local area non-profit and evening events that include a team auction on Saturday night, 6:30 p.m. at Mahoney’s Bar & Grill in Bellevue and awards party on Sunday night, 5:30 p.m. at 7 Fuego restaurant in Gannett.

For those interested in competing, sign-ups are Friday night, at Mahoney’s in Bellevue from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. There is also a teamup page on Facebook if you need a partner www.facebook.com/ groups/wresja.teamup/

EVENT INFO

Sign up at Mahoney’s Bar & Grill in Bellevue on February 17th 6pm-9pm

Race will be Feb. 18th & 19th at high noon

81 browning lane, Bellevue, id

Contact info: Bill Bobbitt (208) 720-7798 www.woodriveresja.com

2023 Sun Valley

Writers’ Conference Passes on Sale

Passes for the 2023 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference will be available starting at 10am (Mountain Time) on February 16. They will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis directly from the SVWC website (svwc.com/attend). As in years past, passes will sell out quickly—even within minutes—so be sure to mark your calendars!

This year, two passes will be offered—a Full Conference Pass ($1,100) and a half-price Next Generation Pass for those age 35 and under ($550). Both passes provide access to all the wonder of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference throughout the three-day event—all Pavilion talks, intimate breakout sessions, book signings, Q & As, breakfasts and lunches, and a closing reception on the stunning Sun Valley Pavilion lawn.

If passes sell out, sign-ups for a waiting list will open and those on the list will be notified in the order submissions are received in case any additional passes become available. There will also be the opportunity to purchase single event tickets ($35 each), livestream for free, or attend the free Pavilion lawn talks—all for select talks only. Schedule and talks are still to be determined and will be announced closer to the Conference dates. The free Community Speaker Series, in partnership with The Community Library, will also be happening again this July, with more details to be released soon.

The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference is pleased to offer the half-price Next Generation Pass again for 2023. This $550 pass is available for those age 35 and under, inspiring the “next generation” to become lifelong SVWC supporters.

This pass allows the Wood River Valley’s youth to experience all the wonder of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference throughout the three-day event at half the price. There is a limited supply, so it is recommended not to wait to purchase.

For several days each summer at the Sun Valley Resort, some of the country’s— and the world’s—best writers and thinkers, including fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, playwrights, poets, and filmmakers, talk about their work and the world at the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. The event’s past presenters have included Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, and winners of the elite Mann Booker Prize given in Great Britain. Together, writers and readers freely exchange ideas, concerns, hopes, and aspirations.

The audience enjoys talks presented in the stunning outdoor Sun Valley Pavilion and smaller, more intimate sessions with favorite speakers, as well as musical performances and films. The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference is a nonprofit organization. For more information, please visit svwc.com. Photographs are available upon request.

Annual Nordic Cup Race at Quigley on Sunday

Kids ages 3-13 are invited to spend the morning on the trails at the BCRD Quigley Nordic center in Hailey. Classic and skating events on courses ranging in distances from 0.5 kilometers to 3k are offered.

This year’s theme is Gliding to Freedom. Red, white, and blue costumes are encouraged. Held since 2006, the Nordic Cup is staged in partnership with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Blaine County Recreation District.

The Nordic Cup Race is FREE to the community. Sign up at papooseclub.org/nordic-cup-pre-registration

Race location is the BCRD Quigley Nordic Center, Hailey. Day of race registration @ 8:30AM. Race start @ 10:00, awards and refreshments to follow.

Volunteers appreciated. Please visit us at www.papooseclub.org and click on the volunteer link. Or contact Sharla Smith 541-646-1946 or sharla.smith.vacasa@gmail.com.

Idaho Plunges from #7 to #23 in National Conservative Rankings

ALEXANDRIA, VA (February 2, 2023) The voting of Idaho’s state lawmakers trended much more liberal last year, dropping the state from #7 to #23 in the national conservative rankings produced by the Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA). The rankings are based on analyses of the voting of all 7,400 state lawmakers in the nation, including over 265,000 individual votes across 3,500 different bills introduced across the 50 state legislatures. Idaho’s conservative rating fell from 69.93% to a dismal 59.29% last session, with only 34 of the state’s 93 Republican lawmakers receiving awards for voting in-line with the conservative position at least 80% of the time. The conservative rating is based on lawmaker voting across 186 policy areas ranging from cultural and life issues to tax, fiscal, and regulatory policies.

There is an opportunity for improvement in Idaho’s ranking as Rep. Mike Moyle (a stellar 86% conservative rating) has recently been sworn in as Speaker. But major concerns still remain on the Senate side where the conservative ratings of many members and leadership hover around a mere 50-54%. However, CPAC looks forward to working with leadership and all members to help return Idaho to a top 10 state.

I Take Your Hand In Mine - A Play Reading

Written by Carol Rocamora based on the love letters between playwright Anton Chekhov and famed actress Olga Knipper. They knew each other only six years; they were married for three of them until Anton’s death in July, 1904. During those six years his health and her work kept them apart most of the time. Their love story is brought to life vividly through the roughly 400 letters written by each of them. Eloquent and moving, the play is an exploration of this couple’s short but beautiful time together.

Info:

A play reading, produced by TLTC and presented at The Mint in Hailey.

Tix available at LibertyTheatreCompany.org, or call 208-582-8388. Pay what you feel.

Directed by local artist Naomi McDougall Jones.

Starring Courtney Loving & Joel Vilinsky

Plays February 14, 17 & 18 at 7pm.

Drinks available for purchase each night courtesy of The Mint. 75 minutes, no intermission.

Tickets are general admission.

RATES (includes Full Color)

Quarter Junior Horizontal (5.78” x 3.875”) .....$225

Quarter Junior Vertical (3.8” x 7.875”) ...........$185

Quarter (5.78” x 7.875”) ..................................$325

Half Page (9.75” x 7.875”) ..............................$575

Full Page (9.75” x 16”) ...................................$925