It has been two weeks since the 2008 Dirtbag Film and Photo Festival - an event Kevin Shepit and I host in Kimberley each fall - but I am still fully stoked from the energy and excitement generated that weekend. This was the second year of the Fest, and to say it went off is an understatement. Both nights were sold out. The quality of our featured artists was awesome. The vibe was great. And we raised a fistful of cash for Wildsight.

Thanks to everyone who came out, contributed material, and supported the Fest.

Over the coming months we will post the majority (but not all) of the material on YouTube. Watch the Dirtbag Festival Channel to see it all. Below are links to the opening film (which seemed to get a few laughs) and my personal submission to the Photo Night.

We will be updating our website (www.dirtbagfest.com)soon as well (and getting off my silly site I hope!) You’ll be able to find news of next year’s fest, and submission guidelines for all you keeners.

And finally, in the week before the Fest, our community received the shattering news that Anton Lienweber - a beloved friend of everyone who met him, and a major fixture in the valley - had passed away in a climbing accident. For many days it was tough to even imagine going ahead with the Festival. Anton had material in it. Everyone’s mind was elsewhere. But in the end we did decide to go ahead, and dedicated both nights to Anton. Instead of a moment of silence, we asked for a moment of noise. Iin twenty years of standing before audiences, I will never forget the lights fading, a pic of Anton skiing up on the screen, and the inside of McKim theatre sounding like a 747 was taking off. If there was a fitting tribute to Anton’s spirit, it felt like we had shared in it.

If you haven’t seen it, climb the hill, and bring a pair of binoculars to read the plaque someone placed on the top beam of the Upper T-bar station. Couldn’t say it better myself.

Anton bud, the fest was for you, these vids are for you, we don’t forget you.

Dirtbag Festival 2008 Opening Film

Dirtbag Festival 2008 - Bruce Kirkby’s Photo Submission

You can learn more about my environmental commitment elsewhere on this website, but in a thumbnail, I have had a long association with One Percent for the Planet. (This is an organization formed by Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia; and its members are small and large business that choose to donate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. I urge you to learn more about One Percent For The Planet, to patronize business that are already members, and to consider joining yourself.)

One Percent for the Planet have used my images on their website in the past, and this spring called to ask if they could use the same images in a promotional video that would be shown at all Jack Johnson concerts during his summer tour. Of course I said yes, go for it.

They recently sent me a final copy of the piece. I am particularly interested in the treatment of the photos - where foreground and background are unlinked, and move independently to give an illusion of three dimensionality. It is something I have been seeing more and more in mainstream marketing. The first memorable example was of a Sydney Crosby / Gatorade advertisement that aired during last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Anyways, check it out. Kinda neat.

I’ve written about my buddy Jay McCue here several times before. Jay was a challenger on Episode 10 of NOW - a former elite mountain bike racer who had suffered a terrible crash at Panorama, was now paraplegic, and wanted to go surfing. Surf we did, as well as swim and waterski. We spent three sun-filled, happy days together, and I was blown away by Jay’s attitude. He was always positive (despite the extraordinary challenges he faced each day), and always looking to the future with grand plans. Several years ago, Jay raised enough funds to travel to remote China and undergo stem cell therapy that is not permitted in Canada, religiously worked on stretching and strengthening, with the belief that he would one day walk again. A few months ago I was in Calgary trying to help Jay raise funds for an amazing FES (functional electrical stimulation) bike that would allow him to get an aerobic workout.

Well, yesterday Jay sent me an email saying he had just gone skydiving. I think the pictures tell the whole story. Check this out. Nice work Jay!