Nathan Sandoval and Kyle Dickenson present a talk about their YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) film festival project during the June 9 Kiwanis meeting. Photo Courtesy Kiwanis
BY BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos
At the June 9 meeting, Kiwanians heard a delightful presentation from Nathan Sandoval and Kyle Dickenson about their YIMBY film festival project. YIMBY stands for Yes In My Backyard. The sold-out event was held on May 10 of this year at SALA and raised money to support the Tuff Tykes, a community organization that supports children learning to mountain bike safely and enjoyably.
Sandoval explained that he had just finished the Leadership Los Alamos program and was looking for a leadership project that would benefit the community. While on a bike ride, he was talking to Dickenson who had recently produced a short environmental film about the plight of the giant sequoias following the California fires and had shown it at the Banff Film Festival. This conversation sparked the idea of creating a film festival in Los Alamos featuring environmental and mountain biking themes.
They then set about learning how to become event planners. They researched and solicited short film entries and booked the event at SALA. The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) was a major supporter for their project, helping with a marketing plan, providing Sandoval and Dickenson with a booth at one of PEEC’s events, and advertising through news media and social media.
The event was a big success. The nine films selected were shown to a sold-out audience and raised $1500 for the Tuff Tykes. Children in the Tuff Tykes program introduced each film and the event included several community presentations. Mobile Bike Works, a company that runs a mobile bike repair service set up their trailer in the SALA parking lot and, as a result of the interest they received, is now scheduling weekly Los Alamos visits. A second film festival is already being planned for next year.
Sandoval and Dickenson also talked about the planning stages of a Bike Park community project that could be built on North Mesa near the stables. This is of particular interest to them as it would provide a safe and controlled space for the youngest mountain bikers to learn to control their bikes before hitting the trails.
The meeting ended with a showing of Dickenson’s film “Last of the Monarchs”.