Andre Carrier, right, talks with Chris Waddell after Monday night’s premier event at the Eureka Casino. Photo by Kris Zurbas.
“This is a bit of an indulgent evening,” said Eureka COO Andre Carrier at Monday night’s opening reception for the third annual Best of Fest Film Festival held at the Eureka Casino’s Grand Ballroom. And indulge he did, kicking off the night and festival with Chris Waddell and his showing of 1Revolution, a documentary created in part with sponsorship from the Eureka Casino & Resort. The film demonstrated Waddell’s desire to remove the boundary between those with physical disabilities and those without them in his journey to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro six years ago.
“Everybody in life needs a pace car. If you don’t want to get lazy in life, you better have someone you can look to.” Carrier continued. Waddell is that person, according to Carrier, for himself and Greg Lee, CEO of the Eureka. “He works tirelessly to help people to understand their blind spots. To help, particularly kids, to find the opportunity to see the best in one another. We strive to do that at the Eureka.”
Waddell’s film touched every viewer in the room, which was a nearly sold-out crowd, receiving a standing ovation afterwards.
The 2015 Best of Fest continues every night this week, concluding Friday night, Oct. 8, with the final showing at 6 p.m. at both Redd Hills Cinema, 790 W Pioneer Boulevard, and Megaplex Stadium 6, 749 W Mesquite Boulevard and a VIP Festival Wrap Party on Friday, Oct. 9, at the Eureka Hotel Pool beginning at 6 p.m.
Tickets for all events are available at JS Merchants, inside the Eureka Casino, 275 Mesa Boulevard. The Festival’s full film schedule is available in section A of the Oct. 1 Mesquite Local News as well as online under Entertainment, posted Monday, Oct. 5.
