Wild Night Out 2024

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Please join us for Washington Wild's annual celebration, Wild Night Out! Meet and mingle with fellow conservation advocates as we recognize this year's award winners and the organization's accomplishments.

Wild Night Out 2024
Thursday, October 3rd from 6-9pm
WithinSodo | 2916 Utah Ave S. Seattle, WA

Registration

Your ticket purchase includes a selection of small bites with options for a broad range of dietary restrictions such as vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free, as well as an open bar featuring beer from our Brewshed® Alliance, local wines, and Schilling Hard Ciders. Non-alcoholic drinks, coffee and tea, and sweet treats will also be available.

Providing more than a third of the organization's unrestricted revenue each year, all of the funds raised from Wild Night Out—including proceeds from the online and live auctions—directly support Washington Wild's work to protect our wild lands and waters.

Early Bird
$90 per person
*available until 9/26

General Admission
$100 per person

Congratulations to Our 2024 Award Winners!

Karen M. Fant Founder’s Award
Maggie Coon

In 1975, Maggie Coon came to the Methow Valley to work as a ranger for the Okanogan National Forest in the Lake Chelan Sawtooth backcountry. It was only a year later when she helped found the Methow Valley Citizens Council (MVCC) in response to a ski resort proposed for Mazama. After a decades-long court battle that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the ski resort was never built. Over the last 45 years, MVCC has been integral in shaping what the Methow Valley looks like today by “watching like a hawk” for actions that degrade the ecological integrity or natural beauty of the Methow Valley and advocating for progressive planning.

Both founded in the late 1970s, Washington Wild and the Methow Valley Citizens Council have worked alongside each other for decades. In the early 1980s, Coon worked closely with our co-founder, Karen Fant, to generate grassroots support for a new Wilderness Area in the Methow Valley. Thanks to Coon's intimate knowledge of the backcountry and community organizing, the 153,000-acre Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness Area was included in the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984.

After years living elsewhere, Coon rejoined the MVCC as a Board Member in 2012. In 2017, she grew deeply concerned about the threat of an open-pit copper mine in the headwaters of the Methow and got to work. Coon played a crucial role in forming and empowering the Methow Valley Headwaters Coalition. Their successful efforts led to the securement of a 340,000-acre mineral withdrawal, ensuring the Methow Valley's protection from mining, indefinitely.

Since 2018, MVCC has signed onto nearly 30 of Washington Wild's public comment letters regarding various conservation issues. And just earlier this year, Coon collaborated with WA Wild to form a coalition of nearly 40 conservation and wildlife advocacy groups, outdoor recreation groups and outfitters, and local businesses in the Methow Valley. These groups raised concerns about the proposed expansion of Navy overflight training areas above the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness.

Coon's unwavering commitment to the place she loves has shaped the Methow Valley for generations to come. Her legacy is a testament to the power of what a thoughtful group of citizens can achieve when they come together for a cause they care for. The entire team at Washington Wild is thrilled to present Maggie Coon with our 2024 Karen M. Fant Founder's Award at Wild Night Out.

Conservation Voices Award
GRAYL® (accepted by co-founder Travis Merrigan)

The partnership between GRAYL® and Washington Wild is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when local businesses and conservation organizations work together. In many ways, our missions are the same—to protect and support responsible recreation in our wild places. Through this shared passion and sense of purpose, Washington Wild's relationship with GRAYL® and its co-founder Travis Merrigan has grown and deepened.

In our Spring 2018 Newsletter, Merrigan wrote a guest voices column sharing that the concept of GRAYL® water filters was inspired by the same role that intact forests and watersheds play in providing clean water.

Since 2018, GRAYL® has been a steadfast supporter on a variety of issues—from advocating for a statewide ban on motorized suction dredge mining in critical salmon habitat, joining the international coalition to halt mining in the Skagit Headwaters, and endorsing our Wild Olympics campaign. GRAYL® has also contributed significant financial support to Washington Wild as a returning sponsor of Wild Night Out and by donating products like their GeoPress® bottles as thank-you gifts for our fundraising campaigns and as part of the prize packs for our annual photo contest.

Washington Wild is not the only organization GRAYL® extends its generosity to, supporting other nonprofits such as Helping Helpers, charity: water, and the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund. GRAYL® is also a member of 1% for the Planet and the Conservation Alliance; the latter of which presented GRAYL® with the Outstanding Partnership Award for 2021 following Washington Wild's nomination.

Thank you to everyone at GRAYL® for their continued support, the entire team at Washington Wild is so excited to present co-founder Travis Merrigan with our 2024 Conservation Voices Award at Wild Night Out.

Brewshed® Alliance Award
Aslan Brewing Co.

Among the original WA Brewshed® Alliance Members, since joining in 2014 Aslan Brewing Co. has been a steadfast supporter of Washington Wild and a variety of conservation issues. They have signed public comment letters, hosted DamNation viewing parties at their taproom, and raised funds for WA Wild through charity beers.

This year, Aslan brewed Forestalgia American Lager, a WA Brewshed® collab beer that brought together 100 breweries, taprooms, bottle shops, and hop growers in celebration of our local craft beer industry's dedication to protecting watershed health from peak to pint. Forestalgia is both a state of mind and a commitment. It's an individual's yearning for an idealized, sustainable future and dedication to protecting Washington State’s forests and rivers for the future of people, planet, and great beer.

Beyond their support for WA Wild's mission and the WA Brewshed®, Aslan is also a leader in sustainability. A Certified B Corporation and brewing exclusively USDA Certified Organic beer, Aslan also captures rainwater from their roof as a Bellingham Rain Garden Steward, strives to source local ingredients throughout their food menu, utilizes Salmon-Safe ingredients when possible, and offsets their carbon footprint.

Thank you to everyone at Aslan Brewing Co. for their continued support, the entire team at Washington Wild is so excited to present them with our 2024 Brewshed® Alliance Award at its year's Wild Night Out.

Supporter of the Year
Evan Olson, Sandpiper Video

Evan Olson is the founder and owner of Sandpiper Video, a Seattle-based video production company that aims to empower their clients with high-quality video content that brings each unique story to life. Olson also hopes to make a positive impact by helping highlight local environmental conservation and sustainability efforts, an angle that introduced him to WA Wild and the WA Brewshed® Alliance. As soon as our team met Olson, we knew he would exceed our expectations with his attention to detail, passion for storytelling, and obvious talent. From filming interviews in various breweries and bottle shops to capturing the energy of brew days, Olson’s dedication to telling the best story possible was unwavering. The video he produced for WA Wild does an incredible job of driving home the essential connection between Washington’s clean water and its thriving craft brewing industry. It demonstrates how our local breweries are stepping up as stewards to protect the local ecosystems and watershed health that support both, and the sense of community fostered by that shared sense of purpose. We cannot thank Olson enough for lending his time, energy, and expertise to create such a timeless and inspiring video.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors!

WA Wild is committed to making Wild Night Out accessible, welcoming, and fun for all! Download our Accessibility + Inclusion Guide HERE.
Please reach out with any questions, concerns, or needs. You can email our Communications and Engagement Manager at kaeli@wawild.org.