Whitefish picked for national catalog shoot

Thanks to a late burst of online voting, Native Eyewear will be coming to Whitefish for its next catalog shoot.

Whitefish was one of five mountain towns across America vying for the publicity that will be generated by the national company as it uses the community as a backdrop for its upcoming retail catalog.

For its annual Locals Only Project, Native Eyewear — known for its sunglasses and polarized eyewear — studied 18 mountain towns to choose five finalists.

The contest played out over Facebook, and a push by the Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau to have local residents vote put Whitefish in the top spot, beating out Salida and Telluride, Colo., Northeast Kingdom, Vt., and Asheville, N.C.

Locals provided both photographs and written descriptions of their town to persuade the national company to feature Whitefish.

Native Eyewear has asked Whitefish writers and photographers to submit portfolios of their work to help the company “capture the essence of the town through their own unique perspective.”

Portfolios must be submitted by June 18. Submit work online to localsonlyproject@nativeeyewear.com.

Dates for the final catalog shoot are June 26-30.

To view all photographs, video clips and comments submitted by Whitefish area residents, go to https://www.facebook.com/NativeEyewear/app_205545416186826