Wings Over the Rockies Nature Festival Planner Elizabeth Shopland was captivated by a powerful line from a new documentary film on tour: “Sometimes we must look back to blaze a better trail forward.” Intrigued, she delved deeper—and is now pleased to announce that Wildflowers will be featured at the upcoming Wings over the Rockies Nature Festival, taking place May 5-11.

Mountain writer and historian Meghan J. Ward recruits a team of creative women to revisit Mary Schäffer Warren’s 1908 expedition to Maligne Lake, in Alberta’s Jasper National Park. Blending backcountry adventures with historical research, Wildflowers demonstrates that sometimes we must look back to blaze a better trail forward.

Mary Schäffer Warren (1861-1939) was 43 years old and recently widowed when she bucked Victorian-era conventions and reinvented herself as a mountain explorer, writer, and photographer. Over a century later, Meghan J. Ward — an outdoor writer, historian and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) — encounters Mary’s remarkable story.

Captivated by the mystery of this woman she can’t meet in person, Meghan embarks on a journey of archival research and backcountry adventures to better understand Mary’s legacy and motivations. She invites photographer/RCGS Fellow Natalie Gillis and travel writer Jane Marshall on a six-day hiking and paddling expedition to retrace the final leg of Mary’s famous 1908 expedition to Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta.

Delving into a landscape that connects adventurers across time, the modern-day team compares past to present as they reflect on Mary’s legacy.

Meghan J. Ward is an outdoor writer and historian based in Banff, Alberta, and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Meghan has written several books, including Lights to Guide Me Home, as well as produced content for films, anthologies, and some of North America’s top outdoor, fitness and adventure magazines.

Her publishing credits include Canadian Geographic, Travel Alberta, Literary Hub, Washington Post Brand Studio, Kootenay Mountain Culture, and Mountain Life. Her adventures have taken her throughout the Rockies, ski-touring in the Arctic, backpacking in Nepal, and travelling to far-flung locations, often with her two kids in tow.

Trixie Pacis is an emerging Filipina-Canadian filmmaker based in Kimberley. Her work revolves around documenting unheard personal and environmental stories. Building on script development experience at Drive Films, she now works as the Director of Acquisitions and Original Programming at ChimeTV, America’s only Asian American and Pacific Islander cable channel delivered in English.

Trixie’s writing and photography have appeared on Mapped, Inside Himalayas and Travel Alberta. You’ll find her climbing, hiking, surfing, or skiing with a camera in hand.

Join us for a presentation from the film director, Trixie Pacis followed by a screening of Wildflowers on Thursday May 8, at Invermere’s Columbia Valley Centre.

To purchase tickets go to www.wingsovertherockies.org

Wings Over the Rockies Nature Festival

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