BUTTE, Mont. — Happening Saturday in Butte, two showings of an awe-inspiring documentary put together by local residents.

In the summer of 2023, Robert Lester and Braxton Mitchell filmed a canoe trip from Silver Bow Creek in Butte all the way to the Pacific Ocean, with a goal of raising awareness of the importance of the health of our waterways and the associated ecosystem.

The experience has turned into a self-funded film called the Columbia River Canoe Project , which has sold out its last 6 screenings, including in Portland, Utah and Helena.

“The reaction from people has exceeded my wildest expectations,” said Lester. “It’s just great how much people love this. And we put a lot of our heart and soul into this, but we just never thought that people would love it as much as they do. We’re really thankful for that.”

It returns to Butte on Saturday with showings at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Covellite Theatre.

“Not only did we start here, not only is it my hometown and we had the premiere here, but there was just so much support for the trip from Butte. And there were so many people who just didn’t get to see the film the first time it showed here at the premiere. So, I’m just really excited that the covellite gave us an opportunity to be able to show it to people who missed it the first time and I’m really excited to get to talk to everybody,” said Lester.

Tickets to the showings are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12-years-old and under, and can be purchased online or at the door. Q & A sessions will follow each showing of the 65-minute film.

Lester says the process of getting a distribution deal secured is still ongoing.

“Hopefully we’ll have an update where anybody can watch it anytime at their home at some point soon,” said Lester.