Bellingham, WA (October 26, 2009) - Year after year, the Mt Baker Film Festival is more than just a place to preview a smattering of film offerings—both local and from afar—and get stoked for the upcoming season. And this past Thursday, the 1,500 seat Mount Baker Theater in downtown Bellingham was nearing capacity as the local ski and snowboard community gathered in anticipation of opening day. Young and old, new to the sport and seasoned vet, this cultural gathering attracts more than just the plethora of local heads who come out for seasonal premiers—it truly is a gathering of the whole Bellingham snow riding community.

Films ranging from historical ski footage to a Kootenay-based Noboard film (Hack Your Shackles) and an edit from Lucas Debari, Matt Edgers, Forrest Burki and Blair Habenicht were definite crowd stokers while the sledneck in all of us got to see some clips from the gearheads alongside the high production values of some of the biggest names in snowsports like Teton Gravity Research. Accompanied by plentiful kegs of boundary bay brews, everyone was fired up and moved to the Wild Buffalo for some live music and après-film stoke.

With the film fest wrapped up and the typical Mount Baker demographic having gathered for the first time of the winter, a winter storm warning is now upon the Pacific Northwest and Baker is reporting its first significant snowfall of the year. Coincidence? I think not…

Thanks to Nicole and the rest of the Mt Baker crew for another successful film fest and see you all up there on opening day. It won’t be long now…