Impressive final WSPA Thursday program held at the Rialto Theater

It sure was a pretty evening in our continually improving downtown of Lancaster yesterday, Thursday, August 21. Our much-anticipated final evening program of the season was being held at Lancaster's classic theater in the downtown. A movie! This would be exciting ...

...with popcorn. Our Events Chairman, Bill Ghelli, seems to be keeping the popcorn away from WSPA Board Member, Nancy DeCourcey. Not really, Bill was sharing generously.

Our movie was introduced by omnipresent Friends of Pondicherry President, Dave Govatski, and WSPA President, Janet Wittenauer. Pretty much a full crowd was on hand to enjoy this captivating, informative and beautifully photographed conservation documentary film.

At the conclusion of the movie, the producer, Tomas Koeck, gave a very appreciative audience an insider's perspective covering the creation, filming and production of this remarkable documentary.

This Flyway of Life began by following migratory and resident birds in Costa Rica, with subsequent filming stops in the Everglades, Atlantic Coast, NYC and Connecticut and then stopped in NH at our Pondicherry Preserve with a side trip to the nearby NH Loon Preservation folks. The final leg of Tomas Koeck's journey took place in the boreal stretches of Churchill, Manitoba with a little nudge up against the tundra region.

The movie provided folks with compelling, close-up views of birds in their habitat but also told the story of the dangers they encounter as they attempt to navigate obstacles placed in their path by man. Tomas' film and his subsequent talk highlighted many elements of strong environmental stewardship. The following slide was among those.

When the evening was over, we stepped outside and couldn't help admiring the Rialto Marquee.

WSPA would like to thank Mike and Keith Kopp of North Country Ford and Shurman Motors for sponsoring this event and for Dave Fuller for offering a fantastic venue for showing this unique and inspiring documentary film.