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Monthly Archives

January 2021

Heliconia
In Awards, Paddle Tales, Heliconia

Heliconia Film Official Selection in the 2021 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival

Heliconia is proud to announce their short film The New Generation of Whitewater Kayakers has been selected for the 2021 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF). This year’s festival has gone completely virtual and will take place February 19th to the 28th.

The New Generation of Whitewater Kayakers is part of Heliconia’s award-winning digital series Paddle Tales, hosted by former World Champion Whitewater Kayaker Ken Whiting. For almost 30 years, Ken’s life has been guided by the paddle in his hands. Now, his passion for whitewater has come full circle, as he and his 9-year old daughter, along with some close family friends, run the river and challenge the whitewater in separate kayaks for the first time. The video was most recently showcased at the 40th annual Kendal Mountain Film Festival.

“We’re so glad this film is getting the recognition it is,” remarks Brendan Mark, Heliconia Vice-President. Mark is another former World Champion Whitewater Kayaker and was also featured, along with his two young daughters, in The New Generation of Whitewater Kayakers. “It’s awesome knowing this film is resonating with viewers and hopefully inspiring other young paddlers to give whitewater kayaking a try!”

The New Generation of Whitewater Kayakers was filmed and produced last summer, during a COVID-19 inspired Ontario road-trip. With Heliconia’s international filming plans postponed due to the pandemic, the Beachburg based video production company pivoted its production plans and turned its lens to the incredible paddling adventures found in its home province. A full playlist of the Paddle Tales episodes captured this summer can be found here: https://bit.ly/3nZkNCQ. The series was made possible with the support of Bell Fund and Ontario Creates.

This is not the first time Heliconia’s Paddle Tales shorts have received international attention. Paddle Tales: Sea Kayaking les-lles-de-la-Madeleine received honorable mentions in the 2019 Waterwalker Film Festival, while Paddle Tales: Sea Kayaking and Stand Up Paddling Cote-Nord, Québec won that festival’s award for the Best Canadian Location. In 2020, Paddle Tales: Le Boat was awarded Silver at the 41st Telly Awards.

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival’s full festival program can be found online at www.vimff.org. For a preview of Heliconia’s award-winning short films, check out Heliconia’s promo reel or visit www.heliconia.ca.

ABOUT HELICONIA: Heliconia is an award-winning video production company that helps destinations and brands reach the US adventure travel audience. The company produces seven unique media projects, providing authentic storytelling opportunities for every adventure and every destination. These series include: Epic Trails, Epic Trails: Mountain Biking, Facing Waves, Adventure Cities, Peak Experience, Chad Hoover Fishing and Kayak Fishing with Jim Sammons. Heliconia has a proven formula that marries inspiring video production with guaranteed television and digital distribution, ensuring that your message is heard by the adventure travel community in a unique and impactful way. For more information, visit www.heliconia.ca.    

Heliconia
In Heliconia

Heliconia Champions Carbon Removal with Tomorrow’s Air

“We have to live for today and enjoy every moment we’ve been given. But that can’t come at the cost of tomorrow.” This is how Ken Whiting, Founder and President of video production company Heliconia, sums up their commitment to climate action and their partnership with Tomorrow’s Air. Heliconia, and the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), are proud to announce their partnership in this video.

Heliconia is an exciting partner for ATTA and Tomorrow’s Air. Heliconia is an award-winning video production company with a sizable distribution network. The company produces inspiring outdoor adventure shows including Facing Waves, Epic Trails, Adventure Cities and Peak Experience and their content airs on OutsideTV, National Geographic, and Amazon Prime to name a few.

The Canadian-based adventure crew at Heliconia was quick to grasp the vision of Tomorrow’s Air, which is to mobilize a global collective for carbon removal with permanent storage. Carbon removal, alongside carbon emissions reduction strategies and carbon offsetting, will be necessary to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. Christina Beckmann, ATTA Vice President of Global Strategy and Tomorrow’s Air Founder, commented, “Connecting with Ken and the team at Heliconia is a perfect fit at this moment. Heliconia helps brands and destinations share their story on the top TV and streaming networking in the U.S., and they do it in a way that is relatable and credible, something that in the climate action category is especially crucial.” Through the magic of storytelling, and by providing commercial space offered through their broadcast footprint, Heliconia will help bring necessary exposure and generate awareness for this pioneering collective scaling up carbon removal via direct air capture with permanent storage.

Whether we travel to explore, or work in the business of travel, we are all grappling with the inescapable fact that travel in our current model adds CO2 to the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. Through their productions, Heliconia promotes the tremendous benefits that adventure travel has on local cultures, economies, and conservation efforts, yet they are very aware that travel contributes significantly to carbon dioxide omissions. Heliconia’s Tomorrow’s Air video is personal, and it puts corporate values, and a commitment to climate action, at the forefront.

Recent research confirms that destinations and brands who incorporate climate action into their messaging will inspire confidence with travelers. A recent survey of 10,000 consumers and professionals across 26 countries conducted in partnership with YouGov found that “81 percent of people expect companies to be environmentally conscious in their advertising and communications. An even greater proportion, 91 percent, understand that the way we act now will have a big impact on the future. Furthermore, the number of respondents stating that they were doing everything possible to minimise their carbon footprint increased from 63 percent to 69 percent over the past year.” Source: Climate crisis still top concern for consumers despite pandemic. 

For destinations looking to differentiate themselves in tourism’s post-pandemic recovery, storytelling around values that travelers can relate to – like climate action – will be increasingly important. This type of messaging connects emotionally and is the first step in building customer relationships that last. Heliconia, in partnership with ATTA and Tomorrow’s Air, is dedicated to supporting destinations in building those relationships, and, as Heliconia Founder and President Ken Whiting says, “inspiring others to explore and develop a deeper appreciation for the magic and diversity of our world.”

ABOUT HELICONIA: Heliconia is an award-winning video production company that helps destinations and brands reach the US adventure travel audience. The company produces seven unique media projects, providing authentic storytelling opportunities for every adventure and every destination. These series include: Epic Trails, Epic Trails: Mountain Biking, Facing Waves, Adventure Cities, Peak Experience, The Great Family Adventure, Chad Hoover Fishing and The Kayak Fishing Show with Jim Sammons. Heliconia has a proven formula that marries inspiring video production with guaranteed television and digital distribution, ensuring that your message is heard by the adventure travel community in a unique and impactful way. For more information, visit www.heliconia.ca.

ABOUT TOMORROW’S AIR: Tomorrow’s Air is the world’s first collective of travelers, travel service providers and travel brands who clean up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to clean and preserve our air for future generations. Incubated by the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Tomorrow’s Air combines the wisdom and connections the ATTA has established over nearly 20 years of supporting sustainable travel businesses and their entrepreneurial leaders with innovation to remove carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it. Visit www.tomorrowsair.com to take climate action into your own hands today.