Festival Trip to Lansing, MI

Yesterday I returned from a very quick trip to Lansing, Michigan where I attended a screening of MAN ON A MISSION (2010) as part of the Capital City Film Festival. About a month ago, Mike Wolfe (director) sent out an email to principal crew asking if anybody would be interested in going to Lansing for a screening of MOAM. Neither he nor Brady (producer) could go so he offered it up to one of us. I immediately replied back that I would go if the spot was still open. Mike immediately tabbed me as the lone representative and contacted the festival to let them know I would be coming.

The trip was so much fun. I left around 8AM Friday morning, arrived in Lansing around 3PM (they are 1 hour ahead of us), checked into my hotel, relaxed for about a half hour, then was off to the screening. Dan Hartley, the festival director, drove me around where I needed to go. He was extremely gracious and was a very generous host.

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The screening started around 6:30PM and it was fairly well-attended. It was hard to tell but I'd say around a hundred people showed up. This was a small festival and only the second year of its existence so it was a respectable audience to say the least. The screening was magnificent! The audience really loved the film and I had a blast with the Q&A afterward. I was pretty wiped so after the screening I went back to my hotel to change. I decided to take a brief walk around the area and find a bite to eat.

Michigan State University was only about a block away from my hotel so I walked along the outside perimeter a bit. It's a gorgeous campus. I quickly found a grungy college sports bar where hockey playoffs were in full swing so it was pretty packed in there. I grabbed a burger and fries, washed it down with a delicious beer, and headed back to my hotel to watch a few hours of "Storage Wars" before hitting the hay.

The next morning I woke up, showered, packed, and checked out of my apartment. Dan and I grabbed lunch at a nearby deli and I bought some gourmet popcorn at a nearby store to bring home to my boys. After that, I went to the airport to get back on the plane home.

It was about 36 hours door to door. A very quick trip indeed but a lot of fun. it's not very often the composer gets to attend a festival on the their dime. In fact, that could realistically be the last time that happens, but if it does happen again, I'd welcome it with open arms. I don't get to travel nearly as much as I would like so if any festival calls...I'll certainly answer.

Thanks Lansing, for putting me up for the night. I had a blast!

Here is where the screening of MOAM was held.
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