Including early St. Marys, GA departure for Sail with the Filmmakers 2010

Cumberland Sound Ferry Announces Revised Schedules for Sail With the Filmmakers to Accommodate Screenings as part of Amelia Island Film Festival 2010!
February 25 – March 1, 2010 – The Cumberland Sound Ferry has revised its official schedule (including an early 9 a.m. St. Marys, Ga departure) for Friday, February 26th and Saturday, February 27th, 2010 to accommodate longer screenings in this year’s Amelia Island Film Festival. Schedule changes will allow passengers to view longer screenings without missing the full day of Sailing With The Filmmakers.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Choose from the following Fernandina Beach departures:
10 a.m.; 2 p.m.; 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Choose from the following St. Marys, GA departures:
9 a.m.; 11 a.m.; 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Choose from the following Fernandina Beach departures:
10 a.m. ; 1:30 p.m.; 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Choose from the followinig St. Marys, GA departures:
9:00 a.m.; 11 a.m.; 2:30 p.m.; and 5:30 p.m.

Upon arrival in St. Marys, GA, passengers will be greeted with a reception sponsored by the St. Marys Film Society.

In partnership with the Cumberland Sound Ferry, Amelia Island Film Festival is focused on exposing filmmakers to the rich history, unique landscapes and memorable experiences that make northeast Florida and southeast Georgia such an enchanting place to visit and make films in the future.
To purchase tickets for this screening, a festival pass, or for ferry tickets for Sail With The Filmmakers aboard the Cumberland Sound Ferry contact Lori Hoerl, Director of Marketing and Operations, Amelia River Cruises, at 904-491-7617 or via email at lorbell1@aol.com. Tickets for the filmmakers sail are $22 roundtrip (20% of proceeds to be returned to Amelia Island Film Festival for future events). Tickets for screenings and the festival are structured according to the type of pass purchased. Call or email for prices.

www.ameliarivercruises.com
www.ameliaislandfilmfestival.org

FAMILY-FRIENDLY MARDI GRAS ON FEBRUARY 13 IN ST. MARYS, GEORGIA

Children’s rock wall climbing and baby strollers will be just as much a part of the St. Marys Mardi Gras festival as are the iconic beads and masks. Presented by the St. Marys Downtown Merchants Association, the 16th Annual Mardi Gras Festival and Parade will showcase decorated floats and dazzling costumes designed around this year’s theme “Romance Through the Ages.” Festival organizers said that the festival has always been family-oriented, contrary to its more famous counterpart in New Orleans.

“St. Marys is a family kind of town,” said Roger Rillo, President the St. Marys Downtown Merchants Association. “We’ve orchestrated a parade and festival that will appeal to all ages making sure there are plenty of activities for the younger set.”

A 10 a.m. parade will launch the festival followed by a full day of entertainment, arts and crafts, and amusements, all lining the St. Marys waterfront and the main street that runs through the historic district.

When the sun goes down and the lights come up, adults will continue the celebration at the Mardi Gras Ball where a new King and Queen are chosen each year. Prizes will be awarded for costumes that best depict the “Romance” theme, and dance music will be provided by one of the region’s most sought after bands, A Touch of Grey.

9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Street festival with amusements that include the world’s
tallest inflatable slide, bungee jumping, a climbing wall,
a trackless train, and numerous arts and crafts displays

10 a.m. Parade with lots of floats, costumes, and bead throwing

12 noon All-day entertainment begins at waterfront stage

7 p.m. Mardi Gras Costume Ball at J’s Restaurant & British Pub

Tickets for the ball are available at the St. Marys Welcome Center and Once Upon a Bookseller in Downtown St. Marys. Beads are also available at the bookstore on days leading up to the festival.

For more information, call 912-882-7350 or 912-552-0072.

Organizers of the St. Marys Film Society are working on developing a mini Film Museum in Downtown St. Marys and are reaching out to residents for ideas and contents for display.

To be housed at 300 Osborne Street in the Film Society office space provided by Joseph and Terra Lucent, the Film Museum will be an added attraction to St. Marys’ already impressive list of museums including the Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum, Orange Hall House Museum, the St. Marys Submarine Museum, and the display galleries at the Cumberland Island Visitors Center.

Vintage Hollywood items are already starting to line the walls of the Film Society office, but Donna Boyett, Film Society board member and benefactor of several displays, said there is much left to be done.

“We’re looking for anything of interest connected to the film industry, and that includes Hollywood, of course, but also items relating to television and video production,” Boyett said. “When the museum is complete, we’re confident it will not only be an asset for our city, but will also be an engaging experience that will help boost our share of tourism.”

Boyett said the donated and loaned props, old film reels, film tools (like old projectors), posters, scripts, and other types of memorabilia will comprise the museum’s exhibits. Film Society board members are working along with Express Scripts to build display areas as well.

Anyone who has an item they would like to donate or lend to the St. Marys Film Museum should call 912-729-1103.

FILM SOCIETY TO HOST FILM SCREENING
FEBRUARY 19 IN ST. MARYS

“MAN FROM PLAINS”
FREE TO PUBLIC

“An extraordinary film about an extraordinary man…” That’s what Larry King said about Man From Plains, the film that Coastal Georgia Film Society will be screening as an event appetizer for the Amelia Island Film Festival which takes place the week after the St. Marys screening.

Biografilm winner of the Venice Film Festival and an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival, Man from Plains has been hailed as an “illuminating, candid, and intimate portrait” of our nation’s 39th president who hails from Plains, Georgia.

Event organizer Barbara Ryan said it is fitting that the first event of the newly named Coastal Georgia Film Society honors someone who has made us all proud to call Georgia home.

“Man from Plains was given the highest rating—four stars—that is awarded by such esteemed newspapers as the San Francisco Chronicle,” Ryan said. “Through the generosity of our big brother organization, the Amelia Island Film Festival, we are able to make this showing free to the public.” The film will be shown again the following week during the Amelia Island Film Festival.

Tony McAdoo, president of Amelia Island Film Festival hopes to create enough interest that Camden County residents will come by car or take the Cumberland Sound Ferry to enjoy the many films that the Festival on the south side of the river will be offering February 26-28.

“Amelia Island and Coastal Georgia are bridged by a common love of movies and we feel that co-promoting our events is a win-win scenario for everyone,” McAdoo said.

The 7:00 p.m. February 19th screening in St. Marys at the Ward L. Hernandez Economic Building, 400 Osborne Street, is free to the public and will be preceded by an open reception at the St. Marys Visitors Center, 406 Osborne Street. As there are a limited number of seats available for the screening, the Coastal Georgia Film Society is asking those who wish to attend the screening and the reception to call 912-882-4000 for reservations.