A red carpet event--Fergus Falls style!

Glamorously attired guests walk the red carpet, smiling at the paparazzi and signing autographs for their adoring fans.

Is it Hollywood? No, it's Fergus Falls.

Sixteen Fergus Falls non-profit organizations came together Monday, April 30 to host the city's premiere of The Ultimate Gift at A Center for the Arts.

The premiere’s guest list included members of the Fergus Falls community who have made an impact on the area by serving faithfully over the years as volunteers, board members and donors.

The Fergus Falls non-profits are all partners of Leave a Legacy®, a nationwide effort to help people learn about charitable giving through a will or from an estate. Leave a Legacy® partnered with producers of The Ultimate Gift to publicize the movie to encourage people from all walks of life to “make a difference in the lives that follow” by leaving a charitable gift in their wills and estate plans.

The Fergus Falls High School photo class joined in the fun by acting as paparazzi and autograph hounds, as the local stars walked the red carpet. Local wine makers and the Lakes Country Wine Club donated locally made refreshments for the wine- and cheese-tasting reception.

The Ultimate Gift tells the story of Jason Stevens, a young, disillusioned man who receives a legacy from his grandfather—provided he complete 12 tasks. The tasks take Jason on a year-long journey to learn about what is truly important in life.

Thanks to all the non-profit organizations sponsoring the event:
A Center for the Arts
Communicating for America Education Scholarship Foundation
Fergus Area College Foundation
Fergus Falls Area Community Foundation
Fergus Falls 544 Education Foundation
Fergus Falls Area Family YMCA
Friends of the Fergus Falls Public Library
Friends of the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center
Lake Region Hospital Foundation
Lakeland Hospice and Home Health Care
Otter Tail County Historical Society
Permanent Family Resource Center
Pioneer Retirement Community Foundation
Productive Alternatives, Inc.
United Way of Otter Tail County
West Central Initiative

Discover "The Ultimate Gift"

Red Stevens is determined to teach his grandson Jason a lesson--12 actually--even in death. In his will, he challenges Jason to accomplish 12 tasks in order to inherit what Red describes as "the ultimate gift." What it can be is what Jason has to discover by embarking on a year-long quest.

You can discover what it is, too, in the movie, The Ultimate Gift, starring James Garner, in what he says will be his last role, Brian Dennehy and Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin.

A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls is showing The Ultimate Gift, May 1-4. Visit the Center's Web site for exact times.

The Ultimate Gift is partnered by LEAVE A LEGACY®, a national effort to inspire people from all walks of life and all income levels to think beyond their lifespan when doing good works. More than 20 Fergus Falls non-profit organizations, including West Central Initiative, and many more groups throughout west central Minnesota, are members of LEAVE A LEGACY®.