In the vein of the Cannes and Sundance film festivals, Fresh Coast is a documentary festival celebrating the “outdoor lifestyle, water-rich environment and resilient spirit of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest,” says it website, freshcoastfilm.com.

The festival takes place every year in October during the height of the fall color season. Ampersand Coworking, 132 W. Washington St., will serve as headquarters.

Justin “Bugsy” Sailor is interim president of the fourth annual event this year, and oversees marketing and other duties.

“We want to inspire a culture of Great Lakes storytelling,” Sailor said, “and we hope people walk away feeling inspired. We want to present films that are local that they can feel pride in, but we also want to present films that maybe challenge a belief or present content that they wouldn’t normally see.”

The Delft Bistro along West Washington Street in Marquette is one of the venues for the upcoming Fresh Coast Film Festival set for Thursday through Sunday. Outdoor tours will be part of the festival. (Photo courtesy of FCFF)

More than 120 new films in addition to repeat films will are on this year’s schedule and will be shown at various Marquette venues that Sailor said are all within walking distance.

One of those films is “24 Leeches” by Aaron Peterson, the mastermind behind Fresh Coast’s creation. The film is a family camping story told by his late son, Josiah, and takes place during a 10-day canoeing and camping trip to the Slate Islands of Ontario on Lake Superior. The film originally was produced in 2018, but wasn’t released because Peterson didn’t think it was finished.

Unfortunately, his son died at age 10 this past August due to a fungal brain infection contracted during leukemia treatment.

“Now, this film has become a memorial to my best friend and adventure buddy, a very special kid that experienced more in his decade than many do in a full life,” Peterson wrote in the film synopsis. “I ache to know what he would have become, but find joy in all that he has.”

The films can be only a few minutes long, or feature-length. They will take viewers, if not physically but emotionally, to places as far away as France, where Richard Permin in “Good Morning” is shown skiing on the roofs of buildings, and closer to home for a trail rehabilitation project in the McCormick Wilderness area in “Mules in Michigamme.”

Fresh Coast isn’t just about films, however. The experience includes guided outdoor activities that highlight what this region of Lake Superior has to offer.

People will have the opportunity, for instance, to climb Cliffs Ridge. As the largest cliff in the area and made of quartzite, the Cliffs Ridge is located on the back side of Marquette Mountain. The climb will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Also scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday is a hike along the Dead River Fals, which plunges down a rocky gorge.

A Presque Isle interpretive tour will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday while a Marquette History Tour also will take place at 9 a.m. that day and include a visit to the Delft Bistro, which has been converted into a modern theater and restaurant.

Set for 8 a.m. Sunday is a hike up Sugarloaf Mountain, with the short 20-minute ascent leading hikers through a northern forest.

People can visit Wetmore Landing, a scenic forested area that runs along the Lake Superior shoreline, starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. The hike will lead people through fall foliage and sandy beaches to the rocky cove of Rum Runners, a popular cliff jumping and historical area.

Scheduled for 9 a.m. Sunday is a two-hour tour of the Marquette Harbor in the 32-foot Cornish pilot gig, the Lark.

Tours are free with the purchase of a weekend or same-day pass.

An outdoor hotspot, though, needs places for people to refuel and unwind, and Marquette has plenty of unique coffee shops. To showcase these shops, a Fresh Coast Coffee Crawl is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, with the meeting location at the Spring Street parking lot. Sign-up includes samples at the Velodrome Coffee Company, Dead River Coffee, the Crib and an FCFF freebie. The event costs $5 plus a $1.94 fee.

The Okee Dokee Brothers will perform at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Kaufman Auditorium, with the cost $5 plus a $1.94 fee.

Food trucks will be at the Marquette Commons on Thursday beginning at 5 p.m.

To purchase tickets at various pass levels and for several special events, visit freshcoastfilm.com/tickets.

“We have films that will make people cry,” Sailor said, “and we have ones that will make them fall out of their chairs laughing.”

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.