The third week in March finds Great Falls turning in to the Western Art Capital of the World. That’s a pretty heady title but once you experience it, you get it. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Russell Art Auction, now named The Russell: A Sale to Benefit the Russell Museum. Locals who began the show 50 years ago, and one who has attended all 50 shows, were all smiles last night at … Read more
I’m not sure if I should even refer to Shonkin, Montana as a town. It’s primarily a community center building and an elevator but believe me, it was a hopping place this weekend. Located in Chouteau County, Shonkin was one of the towns that participated in the county-wide Christmas celebration. It requires a bit of gravel road driving to get to Shonkin but the drive provides some varied and beautiful scenery. Well worth it. I … Read more
150 years! In Montana history that’s pretty significant. First, some background on the history of this 150 year old Fort. In the late 1860s there was a lot of conflict between Native Americans and the white settlers who came to the area. Fort Shaw was constructed and opened June 30, 1867 to protect the settlers traveling on what was called the Mullan Road. Construction of the fort was primarily adobe bricks and when you look … Read more
You can call it a music festival (and it is) but it is so much more! It’s a celebration of rural life, of family, of small and big towns, all happening in the middle of a pasture just outside of White Sulphur Springs. The town of White Sulphur Springs has almost a thousand people living there but attendance at Red Ants Pants Music Festival tops 16,000. Just a few good folks over for a visit! … Read more
When I first heard about the event called Montana’s Longest Table I couldn’t quite visualize how they would structure it, but I knew I wanted to attend. What is it? Two city blocks in Lewistown were closed off and long tables were placed down the middle of the streets. Area restaurants were contacted and eleven of them agreed to each make 200 samples (200 tickets were sold). The best part…they needed to use a product … Read more
This week I was in Havre, Montana for a meeting and made good on a promise to visit a new bed and breakfast and an event center. To get there I drove across Havre’s viaduct and then veered left. It’s a slightly confusing intersection but I made the right choice. Betsi, the owner of the B&B, had given me good instructions on how to get there with plenty of visuals. I saw the sign about … Read more
Great Falls recently hosted Western Art Week, a collection of 13 art shows all featuring a variety of art for sale. The longest show runs for five days, not quite a week, but the days are jam packed. The art shows take place the third weekend in March around the time of Charlie Russell’s birthday. Most folks think of western paintings during Western Art Week, but in addition to that, you’ll find an amazing variety of art including sculptures, … Read more
Lewistown’s Montana Winter Fair definitely qualifies for having unique events. My favorite yodeler is Wylie Gustafson of Yahoo fame and he and his band, The Wild West, were performing an evening concert to kick off the Montana Winter Fair weekend. That was enough to get me to pack my bags and drive to Lewistown. The concert was held in the Grand Hall of the Eagles on Main Street. Thank goodness I had a ticket because … Read more
I stopped by the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls last week and saw a very large black dog laying on the floor just past the foyer. As I walked closer to the dog I expected it to jump up and greet me. Nope! That dog barely blinked until I rubbed his head and gave his ears a little scratch! Buddy, the big Newfoundland dog, volunteers along with his owner at the Lewis & Clark … Read more
I’ve been thinking for the past 12 months about the MT Bale Trail: What The Hay event and trying to come up with something unique for my bale entry. I had recently been baking cupcakes and had an idea. I thought I could take several of the big round bales and attach chicken wire to them, add a colorful top with an inexpensive vinyl tablecloth and I’d have the perfect haybale cupcake. Attaching the chicken wire and … Read more