Carnival film captures heart of time-honored event
Adam Pitman works at his Whitefish home last week making final changes on his documentary on the Whitefish Winter Carnival. The film will be shown Feb. 3 and 4 at the O’Shaughnessy Center.
Pitman reviews tape as he works on his documentary about Whitefish Winter Carnival.
Pitman has turned his loft space into a editing room where he makes the final cuts to his documentary on the Whitefish Winter Carnival.
Filmmaker Adam Pitman
Ted Lund would have loved this documentary. He is, after all, one of the stars.
Lund, who died in October 2009 at age 92, was one of the Whitefish Winter Carnival’s original penguin characters and one of a long line of town leaders who have kept the carnival going for more than a half century. Thankfully, filmmaker Adam Pitman was able to document and incorporate Lund’s story into the film that debuts this week.
Pitman got the idea to make the documentary well over a year ago when it occurred to him that not everyone knows the story of legendary King Ullr, the Queen of the Snows, the yetis, Nordic women warriors and other characters who are key players in the annual winter event.
He grew up attending the carnival parade and became intrigued when he’d observe people’s reaction to the carnival royalty and other characters.
“I assumed every town had a winter carnival, that it was just the norm,” he said. “But it wasn’t until I had people come from out of town that I realized how unique the carnival really is.”
And lucky for Whitefish, Pitman has the skills to put together a major film. The Whitefish High School graduate already has two independent horror films — “Roulette” and “Paper Dolls” — under his belt.
Pitman’s colleague, Jake Cook, helped film and edit the carnival documentary and Stumptown Historical Society is heavily involved as the executive producer.
“I didn’t want to make a dry documentary,” Pitman said last week, still editing the final scenes. “I wanted to showcase the beauty of this event. I tried to make it as personal, funny and touching as possible.
“It’s a love letter to Whitefish, and I’m excited to share it,” he added. “It’s really the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Interviews with members of the original committee that launched the first carnival, including Jackie Adams and Norm Kurtz, are woven into the documentary.
Kurtz is credited with pushing the event off a cocktail napkin and into reality. In the late 1950s town leaders needed a way to bring people to town during the long winters. In fact, well-known photographer Marion Lacy had been heard to say, “We’ve got so much winter around here we might as well sell some of it,” according to the Whitefish history book, “Stump Town to Ski Town.”
In a 2006 Daily Inter Lake interview, Kurtz recalled a discussion at the old Ptarmigan Room in the Chalet on Big Mountain when Whit Smith and Dr. John Simons were talking about what they could do to make winter more interesting in Whitefish.
“They were good friends and drinking buddies,” Kurtz recalled. “I hung my ear on the whole thing and when I went home I made a bunch of notes.”
That was 1959. The following year carnival organizers, who became known as the Dirty Dozen, “worked their tails off” to create the first Whitefish Winter Carnival.
The film will debut this week at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. An additional 4 p.m. showing is planned on Thursday. A minimum $5 donation is asked; proceeds will benefit Stumptown Historical Society.
A pre-sale of documentary DVDs will be held at the debut; the DVDs will be shipped by late spring and will include deleted scenes and special features. They’ll later be available for sale in local gift shops and at the Stumptown Historical Society museum at the train depot.
Stumptown Historical Society has backed the project financially along with other civic organizations and private donors. The society also has provided artifacts and other resources, director Jill Evans said.
“The time this young man has put into this project is astonishing,” Evans said. “He’s put his heart and soul into it and has really created a role for himself as the historian for the Winter Carnival. These kinds of collaborative efforts are priceless.”
Evans, who was knighted by carnival royalty last year as the Keeper of Carnival Curios, has assembled a collection of carnival artifacts that will be displayed at the documentary debut and also at the Friday night carnival ball at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.
Pitman said he may enter the documentary in various film festivals, “depending on how it’s received.”
For those who can’t wait for the debut, a trailer is available on YouTube.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.