The spring season is a vibrant time of year for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour program with many dozens of events taking place throughout March, April, and May. Earth Day is an especially robust period for the tour, and this year we had more April events than ever before! One of the highlights included the April 13th and 22nd events hosted by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy in San Pedro and Redondo Beach, California. 788 in-person tickets were sold, with PVPLC raising tens of thousands of dollars for their organization!
Kenny Roth, Development Manager at Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy shared some wonderful feedback with us about both events:
“What worked really well for us this year with hosting two Wild & Scenic Film Festival tour stops! At Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, we had a fantastic turnout and were thrilled to feature two special guests. One was John Van Hamersveld, the iconic illustrator known for The Endless Summer poster and numerous classic rock album covers. John created a custom poster for our event featuring the endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly. He attended in person to sign posters that were available for purchase that day, which created a lot of buzz and excitement.
We also welcomed Beth Pratt, who spoke about her involvement with the LA Wildlife Crossing. Her talk was incredibly inspiring and well-received. In addition, our Executive Director, Board President, and Development Director (Susan) also gave brief remarks, helping to frame our conservation work in a local context.
At our Redondo Beach screening, we were able to bring down John Siegel Boettner from the Santa Barbara chapter of Cycling Without Age. He arrived with a trishaw, which we displayed outside for photos. John spoke before the screening alongside the PVUSD Superintendent and Susan, making for a powerful and engaging start to the evening.
One key takeaway: having a guest speaker connected to one of the films really elevated both events. It not only helped with publicity but also set an emotional and engaging tone that carried through the whole evening. I truly believe it contributed to the success of both stops.
We’re really excited about extending our reach further up the coast and building new connections in previously untapped donor communities. Next year, we’re hoping to use RUHS (Redondo Union High School) again, but on a weekend date to try and fill the entire auditorium!
Thanks again for all your support and for making this program such a success. Looking forward to keeping the momentum going!”
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy was founded in 1988 by a mighty team of 11 residents. Through a collaboration with local governments, willing landowners and trusted community partners, PVPLC preserves and continues to protect 1,700 acres of land by using natural solutions to remedy human’s impact on the peninsula. This is their 11th year with us, and we are looking forward to working with Kenny and the team next year!
