Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre will host Moscow’s first Wild & Scenic Film Festival Friday night, which will focus on conservation.

The Idaho Sierra Club will organize the 16-year-old event. The club successfully put on three film festivals in Boise prior to expanding their reach to the Palouse.

Chapter Director Zack Waterman has been a part of the Idaho Sierra Club for five years and said the festival is all about promoting clean energies and environmental conservation.

“Some of the program areas that the Idaho chapter is working on is building a 100 percent clean energy economy,” Waterman said. “Our work wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for kind hearted folks who want to see the places they love protected.”

They will hold a no-host bar and a silent auction for the first hour of the event. The evening will transition to a showing of 14 different films, ranging from five to 20 minutes in length, Waterman said.

Each year the Sierra Club chooses which films to show during the festival. Waterman said this year was especially difficult because of a variety of remarkable films to go through.

“There were 150 films to pick from and we had a volunteer team sort through this huge database,” Waterman said. “I think it was hard for folks because there were a lot of films and films with differing messages.”

Marie Crawford is a senior business student at the University of Idaho and said she believes everyone has a role to play in protecting the environment.

“Everyone plays a part in pollution and how the environment is being treated,” Crawford said. “I think the film festival will be really beneficial.”

Crawford said she likes to reminisce about times where she goes on hikes around the area and appreciates the scenery that is close to home.

“There are a lot of wheat fields,” Crawford said. “But here in Moscow, it’s beautiful.”

While she is unsure of how successful the film festival will be, she is glad that the Sierra Club decided to try. Crawford said she hopes the festival will become an annual event so that she can go in the years to come.

Waterman said that this festival is for more than showing off inspiring films. It also exists to educate the public on environmental situations and to create change within larger communities.

“Voting is not enough.” Waterman said. “We recognize that there are a million different ways folks can participate in the political process, but we need folks who are paying attention to understand what’s going to and make their voice heard.”

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival will be held in the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre on 508 S Main St. Moscow, ID. Those interested can buy tickets online or at the door. The event will last from 6 pm to 9:30 pm Jan. 17.