Cold Snap Film Festival

Welcome to the Cold Snap Film Festival! 2025 represented our 17th year celebrating visual storytelling in the outdoors while supporting our community. We are thrilled to host this event and excited to see your compelling stories about the outdoor experience. Our goal is for the films to celebrate the natural world, human-powered adventure, environmental justice, and inclusivity in the outdoors.

While Cold Snap is about bringing art to southwest Montana, it’s also about community. Each year after the festival, we throw a great party and fundraiser for our local soup kitchen Loaves and Fishes. This event — Pray for Snow — raises tens of thousands of dollars to support those in our community who need it most.

Cold Snap kicks off with a screening of select films on the Thursday before Thanksgiving at our local theater here in Livingston, Montana: the Empire Twin Theatres. Then we follow it up on Friday with the Pray for Snow party and fundraiser featuring a community dinner, raffles, and silent auctions all benefitting Loaves and Fishes.

An Event 17 years in the making

The history of the Cold Snap Film Festival goes back to a group of ski bums who just wanted to hang out and watch ski films. We joined the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival and asked locals to show up for the film screenings at the Elks Lodge with donations for our food bank. They responded with enthusiasm and generosity that would eventually take on a life of its own. That was 17 years ago.

Our "backcountry film festival" eventually grew into a two-night event: the Cold Snap Film Festival and Pray for Snow fundraiser.

The film festival now features amazing films from across the outdoor world screened at our local theater in downtown Livingston: the Empire Twin Theatres.

Pray for Snow is held the following night at the Livingston Depot Center with a community dinner, live music, raffles and silent auctions. This annual party brings our entire community together for an amazing cause: supporting our local soup kitchen, Loaves and Fishes.

We are proud to report that we raised a staggering amount of $42,378 for Loaves and Fishes in 2025!

Ways to support

Limited raffle #1

This rod/reel combo includes a Winston Pure 2 9’ 5wt rod, a Galvan Torque Reel, and a Scientific Angler line. 100 tickets at $100 apiece are available and ALL of the proceeds go to Loaves and Fishes. This beautiful setup retails for around $1,600! Tickets may be purchased in person at Dan Bailey's, by calling 406.222.1673, or by sending a payment on Venmo to @Dale-Sexton-8 with your full name, phone number and "rod/reel" included in the notes. CASH, CHECK OR DEBIT CARD ONLY (sorry, Montana law).

Limited raffle #2

This 2025 Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Alloy (any size) will go to one lucky winner of our Pray for Snow limited raffle. We're selling 100 tickets at $20 apiece and ALL of the proceeds go to Loaves and Fishes. This sweet ride retails at $2,999! Tickets may be purchased in person at Dan Bailey's, by calling 406.222.1673, or by sending a payment on Venmo to @Dale-Sexton-8 with your full name, phone number and "bike" included in the notes. CASH, CHECK OR DEBIT CARD ONLY (sorry, Montana law).

attend the party!

There is no better way to support our efforts than joining us for the FREE Pray for Snow celebration at the Livingston Depot Center on the Friday before Thanksgiving. There will be great food and local beer, live music and amazing raffles and a silent auction all benefitting the less fortunate in our community.

RSVP