There are several reasons why this year’s appearance at the Traverse City Film Festival will be special for filmmaker and FOUND Magazine founder Davy Rothbart.

As Patrick Sullivan writes in this week's Northern Express - sister publication of The Ticker - the Ann Arbor native will host the Michigan premiere of his film, 17 Blocks, a project that’s been in the works for 20 years. He’s also bringing 50 or so guests with him to northern Michigan. His nonprofit, Washington to Washington, organizes an annual camping trip for kids from the inner city who might not have experienced nature before. For Rothbart, who grew up taking camping trips to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, it means a lot to take this group to his beloved park.

Making the week even sweeter, though, is how these two events will intersect: Both his 17 Blocks film and his Washington to Washington nonprofit grew out of a two-decades-long relationship he’s had with a family in Washington, D.C., the subjects of his film. To be able to bring the realization of both dreams together in northern Michigan, Rothbart expects, will be magical.

"The entire family from the film — like 12 of the family members — plus about 50 other kids from our camping trip are going to be in Traverse City that week," he says. Rothbart's camping program has grown "every year," he says. "Last year we had 55 kids that came on the trip. It’s amazing. You see how transformative it is for kids to have a week in nature. It really opens their eyes and gets them excited."

Being able to bring kids not only to a national park, but to Sleeping Bear - a park Rothbart says was "the most special place that I ever camped when I was a kid" is an incredible opportunity, he says. "And beyond that, to be able to bring all the family to be there, to share the film with Traverse City audiences, with Film Fest audiences, that’s really meaningful. I’m a very proud Michigan native. Even living in L.A. for 10 years, I wear some kind of Michigan shirt every day. This is the Michigan premiere of the film that I’ve been working on for 20 years, so that’s really special."

Read more about Rothbart's camping visit with his nonprofit and his screening at the Traverse City Film Festival in this week's Northern Express, available to read online or at one of nearly 700 spots in 14 counties across northern Michigan.