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Meatheads ski free

Film company showcases eastern skiing, stops at University of Maine on film tour

Posted on Oct. 05, 2009, at 2:46 a.m.

The crowd at Neville 101 rose to its feet, groping for free prizes flying through the air Thurs. Oct. 1. Amidst uproarious cheering, T-shirts, DVDs, backpacks and other small gifts grazed the tips of ski fans and landed in the hands of the lucky.

“Enjoy. Get rowdy. Make some noise,” said Christopher James, marketing director and photographer for Meathead Films.

James, along with two other Meathead representatives, had returned to the University of Maine for their fifth year to premiere their new ski film.

Meathead Films was founded in 2001 to showcase east coast skiing. Based in Burlington, Vt., the company says their movies “are helping audiences reimagine the possibilities that lie in the mountains of the Northeastern United States and Canada,” according to their Web site.

Each year they produce a movie and tour the east, premiering their work. This year’s film was “Wild Stallions.”

UMaine was the sixth stop on this year’s tour and the first where the DVD was available for purchase. The showing came earlier in the month than in past years.

“It gets me stoked to go skiing during this hiatus between summer and snow,” said Warren Taylor, a fourth-year student.

Taylor has been attending the event at UMaine for three years now. He is also a member of the Maine Outing Club, the event’s sponsor.

“We’re trying to get our name out there. It’s open to everyone – not just skiers and riders,” said Jen Corthell, a fourth-year student and president of The Outing Club.

Corthell explained the club is open to anyone who is interested in the outdoors – whether it’s hiking, climbing or skiing.

She added, “Skiing is one of our big intrigues for our members. We have the cabin.” The Maine Outing Club maintains a cabin at Sugarloaf. Members of the club stay free during the winter for easy access to the ski resort.

Those who take the club up on this offer were excited to see Sugarloaf highlighted in the Meathead film this year. Club members and Sugarloaf skiers cheered and clapped loudly during the movie when the Meathead athletes hit the slopes of many people’s home mountain.

Phil Reed, a fourth-year student who has attended the film premieres every year he’s been at UMaine, said he goes to “see footage from Maine.”

Cheers broke out for scenes where the skiers worked their skills at Saddleback Mountain in Rangeley and Sunday River in Newry as well.

The showing was more than a premier. Free snacks and posters from Meathead sponsors were available for those in attendance. A live band played as the audience trickled in and an abundance of donated prizes were available in a raffle. Prizes included jackets, water bottles, T-shirts, magazines and other ski-related merchandise. The Meathead team brought most of the prizes, but some were donated from The Ski Rack in Bangor. The proceeds benefited the Outing club.

As the showing was free to all — including community members — and the event was sponsored by Student Entertainment, the proceeds were a helpful boost to the club.

The club has become friendly with the representatives that return to UMaine every year. Club members host the visitors in their Orono homes when they visit. It has become a yearly tradition to go out at Pat’s Pizza in Orono after the film showing and to celebrate within the UMaine community.

“It’s a lot of like-minded people in one area,” Corthell said.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009, 2:46 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.