After months of dedicated preparation and hard work, we are now only 24 hours away from the festival's kick-off opening ceremony! We are so excited to have you all with us this year and are looking forward to your feedback on how things go this week. You've waited in long lines for tickets, asked us how you could get involved and volunteered your time and money–now is the time when all that effort comes together for one great week of movies, panels and parties.

Speaking of which, be sure to come downtown tomorrow afternoon and help us get the festival started with a bang. Oscar-winning director and actress Christine Lahti will be receiving this year's Michigan Filmmaker Award at 3 p.m. downtown in front of the State Theatre. Our entire board of directors will be on hand to present her with the award, including Michael Moore, Doug Stanton, John Robert Williams, Larry Charles and Terry George. We will also be joined by Former Michigan Governor William Milliken, Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, Rep. Howard Walker, and Michigan Film Office Director Janet Lockwood. It's going to be a great event–one that will be followed by a special V.I.P. reception at Federico's Design Jewelers, catered by Grandview Catering. You can purchase tickets for the reception, which are $50, through our Main Box Office downtown or here through the website. The opening ceremony itself is free for all to attend.

In case you don't know, Christine has a celebrated film and television career, spanning from her Best Supporting Actress nomination in 1984 for "Swing Shift" to her 1995 Oscar win for Best Live Action Short, "Lieberman in Love," to her Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning performance as Dr. Kathyrn Austin in "Chicago Hope." Most recently, Christine has had starring roles in such hit shows as "Jack & Bobby" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." She was a natural choice for our second Michigan Filmmaker Award, and we're honored she'll be in attendance at this year's festival. We hope you'll join us tomorrow in giving her a proper welcome, as well as ringing in the start of the third annual Traverse City Film Festival!

We look forward to seeing you there!