Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
A GOGEBIC Range Trail Authority groomer parked outside the Histotic Ironwood Theatre pays tribute to the late Warren Miller on Saturday evening. The downtown theater quickly filled for the premier of "Face of Winter," a tribute to the film-maker who died in January.
By RALPH ANSAMI
Ironwood - It was fitting that the Warren Miller tribute movie "The Face of Winter" on Saturday kicked off a week of Jack Frost Festival events, as sticky snow was falling across the Gogebic Range.
The tribute to the man who made winter magic on film was released in October, directed by Chris Patterson. It premiered Saturday night on the big screen at the Historic Ironwood Theatre.
Miller, using a movie formula of skiers riding big mountains on plenty of powder, died in January at age 93 at his home on Orcas Island in Puget Sound, near Seattle.
It was the fourth year of Warren Miller movies being featured at the theater and last year's movie brought out 435 people. It appeared that the energetic Saturday night crowd might eclipse that mark.
Theater-goers received promotional winter literature from numerous entities and refreshments were available.
Saturday's screening was sponsored by HIT and the Snow Country Ski Club, which conducted a raffle to help keep the Ironwood High School ski team competing.
It's a co-operative ski team with racers also coming from the Bessemer and Wakefield-Marenisco schools.
It is one of several fund-raisers conducted during the year for the self-sponsored team.
Around 60 area businesses, including area ski resorts, sponsored the movie premier.
Upcoming movies at the theater during Jack Frost Festival Week include "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" next Friday at 7 p.m. and "The Polar Express" Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The Gogebic Range Band will perform at the theater Saturday following the downtown Jack Frost Parade.
