Wild & Scenic Film Festival — Reno screenings

Reno’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival stop returned April 17 at the Whitney Peak Hotel as a fundraiser built around environmental films and public-land advocacy. (blackrockdesert.org) Friends of Black Rock-High Rock hosted the Reno event from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Whitney Peak, with films, beverages, a Burning Man ticket raffle and silent auction items. (blackrockdesert.org) The group says the night is its premier annual fundraiser and membership drive, with proceeds supporting stewardship, education and outdoor programs tied to the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. (blackrockdesert.org) Wild & Scenic is a touring festival format, not a single Reno-only event. The parent festival, organized by the South Yuba River Citizens League, held its 24th annual flagship gathering in Nevada County, California, from Feb. 19 through Feb. 23, 2026. (wildandscenicfilmfestival.org, nevadatheatre.com) The 2026 flagship program included 17 feature films and 117 shorts, according to the South Yuba River Citizens League, and local hosts book selections from that larger package for their own communities. (yubariver.org, wildandscenicfilmfestival.org) In Reno, the event doubles as outreach for a conservation group focused on the Black Rock-High Rock region north of Reno, an area that includes desert habitat, recreation routes and nationally protected land. Friends of Black Rock-High Rock says the festival is meant to bring together “like-minded people” around that work. (blackrockdesert.org, blackrockdesert.org) This Is Reno listed the screening in its April 2026 events roundup and described the venue as Cargo at the Whitney Peak Hotel in downtown Reno. Reno News & Review also included it in its April 16-26 calendar and identified the evening as the group’s annual fundraiser and membership drive. (thisisreno.com, renonr.com) The Reno date has already passed, but the touring festival continues in other cities through 2026. In Reno, the April 17 stop kept the formula simple: films first, fundraising alongside them, and local conservation work at the center of the pitch. (wildandscenicfilmfestival.org, blackrockdesert.org)