Community Calendar

Southern Oregon Food Solutions will host a screening of the documentary “Common Ground” at the end of National Food Waste Prevention Week (FWPW) on October 4th at 3pm at Ashland Bellview Grange on 1050 Tolman Creek Road.

Southern Oregon Food Solutions (SOFS) is joining more than 500 partners across the country to support National Food Waste Prevention Week September 28 - October 4, 2026, which is a week-long awareness campaign to inspire cultural changes that reduce food waste at home, work and in our communities.

Reducing wasted food matters and together we can save money, conserve resources and improve food access for all. Wasted food is a problem we can solve. Each one of us has the potential to personally affect how much food goes unused.

Common Ground profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late. Common Ground is ”a love letter to our children… and a blueprint for securing our future” according to its featured narrator, Woody Harrelson.

This event is made possible with collaboration from Southern Oregon Food Solutions, The Climate Joy Project, Bellview Grange #759, Ashland Climate Collaborative, Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality and Rogue Valley Food System Network. We partnered with Food Waste Prevention Week in order to promote the value of food and to raise awareness about the need to end food loss and waste at home, in the workplace and within communities.

AIFF Seasonal Film Series: Remaining Native
Wednesday, October 14, 7:00 p.m. • Varsity Theatre

Join us for our Seasonal Film Series, featuring Remaining Native, a film by Paige Bethmann!

Remaining Native is a coming-of-age documentary told from the perspective of Kutoven (Ku) Stevens, a seventeen year old Native American runner, struggling to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great grandfather's escape from an indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future.

To purchase tickets, please visit www.ashlandfilm.org/events.

When a Los Angeles judge starts a running club for people living on Skid Row, something unexpected begins to happen. A moving documentary about unlikely relationships, second chances, and seeing beyond our assumptions.

Join facilitator Marla Estes each month to watch fascinating and insightful videos carefully selected to explore ways to depolarize and then engage in a facilitated discussion to help integrate new perspectives.

In Our Nature, a new documentary exploring how environmental education can strengthen communities, support mental health, and build connections across social and political divides, will screen at the Historic Holly Theatre on Saturday, October 24. Directed by James Parker and produced by Southern Oregon producer and Jefferson Public Radio contributor Juliet Grable, the one-hour film follows educators and changemakers using nature to create meaningful learning experiences and stronger communities.

Join cast, crew and screening partners Ashland Parks & Recreation and Ashland Independent Film Festival on Friday, October 30, 2026 for a special Bat Week event: the Oregon Premiere of The Invisible Mammal, the award-winning feature documentary about bat conservation.

Against the backdrop of the sixth mass extinction, an all-woman team of biologists set out to save bats from a deadly fungal disease. But when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts their work, they are sent down a path of discovery that illuminates the connections between bat conservation and preventing the spread of infectious disease.

Meet director Kristin Tièche, editor Heidi Zimmerman, and castmember Dr. Alice Chung-MacCoubrey.

COME IN COSTUME! It's Bat Week AND Halloween Eve after all! Bat and vampire attire are encouraged!

Schedule:
6:15 pm - Doors open

6:30 pm - Screening begins

8:00 pm - Q&A with cast and crew

8:30 pm - Tabling in lobby

Ticketing:
Please purchase tickets in advance, and take advantage of our early bird pricing:

Now to Oct 15, 2026: $10 + fees

Oct 16-30, 2026: $12 + fees

Join us on Armistice Day, November 11th, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the SOU Music Recital Hall for a tribute to beloved local activist Dot Fisher-Smith and a fundraiser benefiting two organizations close to her heart: KS Wild and Peace House.

The evening will feature stories, footage, and reflections on Dot's remarkable life and activism. We'll screen the newly released film The Outcast at Sanger Lake, which chronicles her extraordinary commitment to nonviolence following a harrowing near-death experience. You can watch the trailer for The Outcast at Sanger Lake here: https://vimeo.com/1149557316/629320ba00?fl=pl&fe=sh

Filmmakers will join us for a Q&A following the screening. Admission is $15, or pay what you can. Doors open at 6:00 pm for an opportunity to share stories and memories of Dot and enjoy an informal archival presentation.

Dot died on January 29, 2026, at the age of 97 at her home in Ashland. This special event celebrates her enduring legacy of peace, courage, and community action.

As part of the nationwide Better Together Film Festival, Building Bridgers presents My Omaha, an award-winning documentary that explores family, politics, and the challenges of understanding those we disagree with. The film follows filmmaker Nick Beaulieu as he returns to Omaha, Nebraska, seeking to better understand his conservative father and the political and cultural divides that have shaped their relationship.

Rather than focusing on political arguments, My Omaha examines the human stories, identities, and experiences that lie beneath today’s polarized landscape. The film invites viewers to move beyond stereotypes and consider what becomes possible when curiosity replaces assumption.

Following the screening, attendees are invited to participate in a facilitated community discussion led by Marla Estes, founder of Building Bridgers. The conversation will provide an opportunity to reflect on the film and explore how we can better understand one another across political and cultural differences.

Open to all viewpoints. Free and open to the public but registration is required:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUBXGftsIXlzdmpwB_IoKyTB5El0biBX-aO-zhABInhKkLTg/viewform