Arts & Entertainment

History, Wildlife Shared at Milotte Film Festival

The first annual Milotte Film Festival is only beginning of historical preservation in Bonney Lake, organizers say.

With fall temperatures and grey skies, Saturday was the perfect day for a film festival.

History buffs and residents converged at the Bonney Lake Justice Center on Oct. 20 for the Milotte Film Festival—an inaugural event honoring the work and memory of the late Alfred and Elma Milotte, a filmmaking couple who worked with Disney Studios and settled in Bonney Lake in the late ‘50s.

Read more about the couple’s mark on local history and read the Milotte blog from the Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society (GBLHS) here.

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The film festival was hosted by the GBLHS, a non-profit, as a way to spark local conversation about area history and inspire viewers with footage captured by the local couple.

Three Milotte documentaries were screened, with two showings of each on Saturday. About 85 people, including friends of the Milottes', attended the screenings. Between films, audience members could stroll through the hallway and read up on the Milottes and purchase Bonney Lake’s Plateau and other historical books. Bonney Lake councilman Mark Hamilton made some remarks on the film and told stories about their lives.

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“It's been a long time since I've heard that much applause after each film,” said GBLHS member and Patch Milotte blogger Fred Jacobsen.

Jacobsen said his group hopes to continue working on preserving the Milotte collection for future generations and to bring in more members to make that happen.

The GBLHS is still searching for a permanent home for the Milotte collection of film reels, photographs and more. The group is currently working on getting the information online.

Interested in learning more about local history and want to help preserve it? Join the Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society at their monthly meeting, held on the last Monday of each month at the Bonney Lake Library and follow them on Facebook.


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