Furry Friends Film Fest may sound like something that happens at Comic-Con. However the event, now in its third year, is actually a fundraiser for the Blue Ridge Humane Society that takes place at Southern Appalachian Brewery (822 Locust St., Hendersonville).
This year’s fest will be held Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 26 and 27, from 6-8 p.m. at the brewery. As in years past, a $10 ticket will provide entry for an evening of short films–most ranging from 5-7 minutes in length.
Local beer writer, certified cicerone and Catawba Brewing employee Gary Glancy organizes the event and stars in the featured film each year. For the past two years, he has parodied Tom Hanks movies with Gary Goes Gump, a beery riff on Forrest Gump, and Cask Away. This year he’s switching gears with a parody of “The Opposite,” a classic Seinfeld episode.
Glancy says the film stars local personalities and government officials, though he’s keeping exactly who took part a secret until the event. Charles Cutler, a local filmographer, shot the feature film.
Farm to Fender food truck will be on-hand , and of course beer and wine will be available for purchase from Southern Appalachian.
This year the event has a new off-shoot as well. There will be is a special Beer & Premier dinner 5-7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at West First Wood-Fired (101B First Ave., Hendersonville). The dinner is all-inclusive and includes four courses from chef Matt Silva with special beers and a preview of the films for $75. Participating breweries include Catawba, Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada, Southern Appalachian and Bold Rock Hard Cider.
“We added the beer dinner for two reasons: One, I really wanted to grow the film festival to raise more awareness of the amazing work being done by the Blue Ridge Humane Society; and two, with the explosion of craft beer’s popularity here in Western North Carolina, I thought Hendersonville was ripe for a first-class event like this,” says Glancy. “Proceeds from all three nights will be donated to the Blue Ridge Humane Society (in 2013 the event raised close to $1,000 for the local charity, and last year the amount more than doubled to $2,500).”
Tickets for all events can be purchased in person at Wag! (231 N. Main St., Hendersonville) or Southern Appalachian Brewery. Only a few tickets were left for the beer dinner at the time of writing.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.