Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts as the 2016 Highway 61 Film Festival gets underway.
This year we celebrate the sixth anniversary of the film festival and remind ourselves that it is because of the vibrant arts culture in Pine City that we continue to enjoy artistic treasures that are in grand abundance right here at home.
We are a discerning people and we have never had reason to complain about the variety, quality and sheer enjoyment of what has been offered to us over the years by our local arts organizations, the Heritage Players community theatre, Pine City Arts Council and Pine Center for the Arts. Best of all, local talents—your neighbors, your friends, and fellow Pine Citians—produced some of what you are about to experience at this festival. A truly worldly festival, the Highway 61 Film Festival sees entries from all over the planet.
If you are new to the Festival or this is your first time visiting Pine City, welcome! I invite you to check out some of the wonderful assets this community has to offer, including 30 places to eat (the third highest-concentration of any Minnesota city), a variety of places to shop, historic sites, arts amenities and more.
A special thanks to the Old Highway 61 Coalition tri-county (Chisago, Pine and Carlton) effort to restore interest in Old Highway 61, part of America’s North-South Byway. Renewed interest in the Highway is part of what it will take to revitalize the small towns along its route.
Enjoy a packed four-day program with these artists’ documentaries, shorts, special genres and features. Congratulations to the Festival team and their volunteers for coming up with a varied and exciting program and look forward to enjoying what the Festival offers.
The business community and individual patrons have long been the lifeblood of the arts in Pine City and without their support, the full range and scale of the festival could not be achieved. We are pleased that our local business community and individual patrons continue to strongly support the arts and the region’s first film festival. We thank them deeply and they are listed in this program. They join us, we know, in thanking the Festival’s most important ingredient of all: You, the viewer and reader of this program.
Enjoy…
Carl Pederson
Mayor
City of Pine City
Welcome to Pine Technical and Community College
Taking Hold of the Future!
Pine Technical and Community College (PTCC) has a long history of providing quality education, and establishing great partnerships that have contributed in making us who we are today. We have taken hold of the future by completing an extensive planning process that provides the map for us to best serve East Central Minnesota. This map identifies how we can best help the residents of this region take hold of their future. Many of these programming opportunities are already in place, with more coming soon. We are offering a wider variety of programs, with more on-line offerings than ever before.
PTCC expanded its mission to become a comprehensive technical and community college by offering new options for students and new ways to meet the needs of the region. This mission change specifically recognizes an increased focus in the arts for our community and students. As the President, I am excited to welcome you again to the college and look forward to continuing our partnership that help provide this rich cultural experience to our great region.
I would like to thank you all for coming to Pine Technical and Community College and strongly encourage you to take hold of your future by rediscovering how we can help your journey.
All the Best,
Joe Mulford
President
Pine Technical & Community College