2014-12-18 PR-FILING CODE
For Immediate Release
20th Anniversary screening of “fire on the mountain”
Collaborative event includes live auction and Q&A with 10th Mountain Division veterans
Telluride, Colorado (December 19, 2014) – During the last weeks of World War II, an elite division of mountain soldiers, America’s 10th Mountain Division, fought a decisive battle against the Nazis in the Italian Alps. Their victory on Italy’s Apennine Riva Ridge led to a push that ended World War II a week earlier in Italy than the rest of Europe. After the war, the United States’ only mountain and winter warfare troops, the legendary soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, played a pivotal role in the development of the US ski industry and became the backbone of a national outdoor education and conservation movement.
On Friday, February 6, 2015, veterans from the 10th, along with Telluride filmmakers George and Beth Gage and Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer Johnnie Stevens will host the 20th Anniversary screening of “Fire on the Mountain: The Story of the 10th Mountain Division,” at the Sheridan Opera House. In addition to “Fire on the Mountain,” the evening will include short films from Mountainfilm in Telluride, special audience Q&A with 10th Mountain veterans Hugh Evans, Clark Wingate, and Dick Over, and a live auction. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Telluride Historical Museum, Gage and Gage Productions, and the Tenth Mountain Division Foundation.
“We are honored to welcome veterans from the 10th Mountain Division to Telluride for this special event,” commented Erica Kinias, Executive Director of the Telluride Historical Museum. “The combination of screening this award-winning film produced by Telluride locals, Beth and George Gage, in addition to the veterans, allows us to reflect on the sacrifices and experiences of those who served in World War II as well as their later contributions to the nation.”
“Fire on the Mountain” won Grand Prize at the Telluride Mountainfilm Festival in 1995, where it went on to screen at the Sundance Film Festival, on National Geographic TV, at the Department of the Interior, and more. George and Beth Gage are pleased to continue to honor the 10th with their film, saying, “After twenty-plus years, the men of the 10th Mountain Division continue to inspire us.”
In addition to receiving reserved seating at the screening, Patron ticket holders, starting at $250, will have the unique opportunity to view a special curated exhibit of artwork from 10th Mountain Division veteran, Jacques Parker, the only 10th Mountain vet to chronicle the saga of the Division through art from 1943 through the end of the war. Five of Parker’s works, which now reside in the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum’s collection, will be on display for the first time. General Admission seating is $25. Tickets for the event are available on the Museum’s website at telluridemuseum.org. Live auction items include original 10th Mountain Division ski equipment, a signed poster from Division veterans, a 10th Mountain Division Hut Association travel package, and more.
For more information, please contact Anne Gerhard, Director of Programs and Exhibits at the Telluride Historical Museum at (970) 728-3344×2, or anne@telluridemuseum.org.