Out to the Movies

Film festivals are spectacles full of movie stars, glitz and glamour. And snowshoeing.

Snowshoeing? Yes. Snowshoeing. The Vail Film Festival, which runs from March 31 to April 3, gives the snowshoeing community an opportunity to get out into the mountains by day and take in some great films by night.

The Festival includes feature films, shorts, tributes and documentaries. In the feature category, be sure to check out “Fern Hill,” a movie set in the mountains of Colorado. “The Wendell Baker Story,” a project from Luke and Andrew Wilson, provides some star-power to the Festival. The Shorts offer audiences a chance to check out movies that they typically don’t get a chance to see.

But movies are just part of the draw. The film festival is a celebration of independent films, yes, but it also celebrates music, local artists and snow sports. There will be nightly parties, where you can rub shoulders with movie stars and fellow snowshoers alike. The “Festival Music Room” will provide a break from it all, where you can sit back and take in some great tunes.

Vail, and surrounding areas, are well known for great snowshoeing, so you’ll be able to get out to some of Colorado’s best trails. A favorite for locals is Corral Creek, at the top of Vail Pass. This five-mile loop is relatively moderate. The Leadville area, to the South of Vail, offers many great trails with fewer crowds that the Vail Valley but is close enough to get you back to town in time for the evening Film Festival events.

Check out http://www.vailfilmfestival.org for more information.