Food festival benefits Project Whitefish Kids

Flathead locals and visitors are invited to enjoy an annual Whitefish tradition: Project Whitefish Wine and Food Fest.

For the last 27 years, Whitefish has hosted the annual wine tasting, food festival and auction. This year’s event, complete with Star Wars theme, will be held at Grouse Mountain Lodge on Wednesday, May 4 from 6 – 9 p.m. The annual event raises funds to support kids in the community through sports and the performing arts.

All proceeds from this benefit go to Project Whitefish Kids, the organization that maintains the Smith Fields Sports Complex for several sports teams, and the Whitefish Theatre Company.

The food includes a sampling of cuisines from local restaurants including The Grill at Grouse, Latitude 48, Tupelo Grille, The Simple Chef, Loula’s At Night, The Cuisine Machine, and Whitefish Lake Restaurant. Fun Beverage provides a selection of wines and introducing new varieties for the tasters to sample. Montana Coffee Traders will supply plenty of coffee, and beer will be provided by Great Northern Brewing Co., and Bonsai Brewing Project.

A silent and live auction highlights the evening. Auction items include fine art, a SONOS speaker system, private dinners by local chefs, golfing extravaganzas, wine, restaurant gift certificates, health and pampering specials, zip line tours, fresh huckleberries, theatre tickets, garden and home decorating packages, fishing, hiking, and rafting events. There is also a week-long getaway package in Sedona, Ariz. Local businesses and individuals have donated all of these items.

Seating is limited to 200. Tickets are $70 per person or sponsor an entire table for ten for $700. Sponsored tables are conveniently located near the auctioneer with the company’s name listed for all to see. Purchase tickets at the following locations: The Village Shop, Imagination Station, and the O’Shaughnessy Center. Call 862-5371 or go online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.

Sponsors for Project Whitefish are Fun Beverage, Whitefish Theatre Company, and Project Whitefish Kids.

The Montana Environmental Information Center and Whitefish Review will host a showing of the movie “This Changes Everything” on April 21 at 7 pm at Casey’s in downtown Whitefish.Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, the film is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change.Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie begins at 7 p.m. Author Douglas H. Chadwick will open the movie with a short reading. Following the movie, Steve Thompson, coordinator of Glacier Climate Action and Roger Sullivan, former board president of MEIC, will host a question and answer session. Tickets are $10 tickets at the door and includes a free back issue of Whitefish Review. For more information, call 261-6190.