Venture Outdoors is a Pittsburgh non-profit organization dedicated to make it easy for everyone in Western PA to access the outdoors. Each year, Venture Outdoors brings the Banff Mountain Film Festival to Pittsburgh and the proceeds from the film screening benefit Venture Outdoors and helps expand the outdoor programming, making it possible for more people to get outdoors.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival will be in Pittsburgh on April 2 & 3.
On Saturday April 2, there is a reception before the films screening. Tickets for the fundraising reception are $100 and include your ticket to the film. General admission tickets are sold out for Saturday, but are still available for Sunday.
Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Carnegie Library of Homestead Musical Hall
Saturday April 2, 2016
5:00 pm – Fundraising Reception
7:00 pm – Film Screening Starts
Tickets: VIP $100, General Admission $25, tickets are available online here: http://bit.ly/VOBanff
Banff Mountain Film Festival Films for Saturday, April 2, 2016
55 Hours In Mexico – Fly to Veracruz on a Friday, rent a car, climb the third-highest peak in North America, ski down and return to your desk Monday. How hard could it be?
The Last Dragons – An intimate glimpse at North America’s Eastern Hellbender, an ancient salamander as mythical as it is real. And in many waters, myths are all that remain of these sentinel stream-dwellers.
Darklight – In 2014, the award winning film Afterglow followed skiers down impossibly lit, virgin powder slopes in the dead of night. Get ready for the sequel, this time on two wheels.
Living Rivers – There is a new and emerging river surfing scene in Montana.
Reel Rock 10: A Line Across the Sky – Long considered impossible, coveted by many and attempted by a few, the Fitz Traverse has fueled the imaginations of climbers in Patagonia for decades. Tracing the iconic skyline of Cerro Fitz Roy and its six satellite peaks, it spans four miles and 13,000 feet across snow and ice-covered rock, with epic route finding and endless rappelling. Seizing their chance during a rare extended weather window, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold went big. The pair completed the first ascent in a five-day push during February 2014.
15-MINUTE INTERMISSION
Kroger’s Canteen – In 2014, Kilian Jornet won the Hardrock 100 mile race through the San Juan’s of Colorado. Along the way he stopped at Kroger’s Canteen – an aid station perched on a tiny ledge, 13,100ft above sea level. This is a story about that aid station, about the people who make it happen, and about the spirit one can only find at the Hardrock 100.
Bluehue – Natasha Brooks swims naked year-round in the cold mountain lakes of Snowdonia, Wales. Through this she finds solitude, grounding and a deep connection to the natural environment. Winner of the British Mountaineering Council’s 2014 Women in Adventure Film Competition.
Chasing Niagara – When pro kayaker Rafa Ortiz decides to paddle over Niagara Falls, he sets in motion a series of events leading his team on a remarkable two-year journey from Mexican rainforest rivers to the waterfalls of the U.S. Northwest before coming to a heart-stopping climax at the iconic falls.
Paradise Waits – How do you celebrate winter when snow finally falls? Freeskier Tim Durtschi takes tram laps at Jackson Hole and big mountain skier Angel Collinson rips up some Alaskan lines.
April showers (snow or rain) will eventually bring May flowers. While we are waiting for those flowers to sprout, there are a whole lot of events happening in Pittsburgh this month. From StartUp Weekend to the Dirty Ball – there is plenty to do in Pittsburgh this month.
votePGH events : May 21st is Election Day in the city of Pittsburgh. Voters will head to the polls to choose the next mayor. There are lots of events where you can meet the candidates and learn more about their visions for the city of Pittsburgh. We’ve included some of the mayoral forums below. If you know of other candidate events – please let us know in the comments.
INCH BY INCH, BLOCK BY BLOCK – A 1″ Button Art Show Opening
Location: Roboto Project
Over 250 pins will be on display
There will be a new slate of ROBOTO pins and new custom pins from (at least) five local artists including Max Traffic, Mike Q Roth, Jes LaVecchia, Andy Scott and Dave Scheponik.
The Scrimmage in the Rustbelt is about supporting and accelerating businesses based in the Rustbelt region that are striving to improve our community and environment. Learn Google’s method for rapid prototyping through an interactive day of problem solving with the region’s top entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Location: Union Project 801 N. Negley Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206
For a $10 donation, SOUP N’AT attendees receive a tasty meal and a ballot. All proceeds are pooled into a cash award. Artists present their ideas, and attendees cast their votes to determine which proposal will receive funding. The winning proposal is announced at the conclusion of the evening.
Andrew Butcher, Executive Director of GTECH (Growth Through Energy & Community Health) which works in Larimer, the North Side, and all around Pittsburgh, doing land reclamation will speak at this monthly meetup.
This is a panel discussion on the possibilities of indie publishing in the age of Amazon. Two touring NYC writer/publishers will be on the panel, along with three Pittsburgh small press folks.
Location: Welker Room, James Laughlin Music Hall, Chatham University
Join Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates & PAC and candidates for the Pittsburgh Mayoral race and City Council candidates for an in depth conversation about the status of women in Pittsburgh and their plans to support and improve issues that affect women in our community
I have a thing for sportsy, outdoorsy films – it is a pretty interesting way to get a little bit of the outdoors mixed in with a the story of interesting athletes. One of the neatest bars I have been to – Mai Tai Bar in Honolulu – gets major points – not for aestiques – it is actually on the roof of a mall in Honolulu – but bonus points for their entertainment – they have live isalnd music in the bar and show skiing and surfing films on the TVs. (There is also a Mai Tai Bar in Daytona Beach – that I visited earlier this year with the hopes of shipping a drink and watching surf films – instead the evenings entertainment was the cover band Spandex Super Heros).
But back to Banff – the Banff film festival is THE outdoor film festival and each year they put together a collection of the best outdoor films. Venture Outdoors brings the festival to town and this year – Banff is bigger than ever with three days of films.
Friday, April 8 -7pm
Saturday, April 9 – 7pm
Sunday, April 10 – 2pm
Each day will have a different line up of films- check out the complete line up here.
Salt of the Earth – Chef Kevin Sousa will be opening a new restaurant "Salt of the Earth" on Penn ave this summer – he has been posting some update on the restaurants blog about how things are coming together.
Salt Themed – Earth Day Dinner at the Cafe at the Frick – A few years ago I discovered sea salt (thank you to costco for including the sea salt with the pepper mill) and so this salt themed dinner caught my eye. On Thurs., April 22, chef Seth Bailey and his staff at The Café at the Frick will host the restaurant's first-ever Earth Day Dinner, which will feature a tasting menu of four courses and dessert based on the theme "Salt of the Earth." Check out some of the interesting items on the menu
Banff Ticket Giveaway! : Venture Outdoors – The Banff Mountain film festival is coming to Pittsburgh April 9+10 – Venture Outdoors is giving away tickets daily on Twitter! Check out this blog post for details.
Buena Vista Coffee: A tasty touch of Hollywood in the Mexican War Streets – Nice little article from Pop City about Buena Vista Coffee – the former Beleza Coffee shop has been re-opened with a new name and a new look. The shop was used in the filming of the movie "Love and Other Drugs" – in the movie Ann Hathaway works in a coffee shop.
Public=Online | The Public Square Project – Last week the Sunlight Foundation – a national organization focused on increasing government transparency – kicked off their new campaign "Public Equals Online" with a panel discussion at the Google offices in Washington DC. The panel included Ryan Hopkins, from Pittsburgh, who is the founder of the Public Square Project – a local effort to building an online hub of information about Pittsburgh government and public policy.
Urban Velo #12 Preview at Urban Velo – I picked up a copy of one the past issues of Urban Velo and was really impressed. They do a great job with this publication, which covers lots more than Pittsburgh. I am looking forward to seeing issue #12
55 Hours In Mexico – Fly to Veracruz on a Friday, rent a car, climb the third-highest peak in North America, ski down and return to your desk Monday. How hard could it be?
I have a thing for sportsy, outdoorsy films – it is a pretty interesting way to get a little bit of the outdoors mixed in with a the story of interesting athletes. One of the neatest bars I have been to – 