If you are not an avid recreationalist, the communities of Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Kalispell, and Bigfork in Northwest Montana are rich in the arts, entertainment, and volumes of history. The Flathead Valley offers everything from Art and Cultural Centers, county fairs, summer concerts, museums, mansions, Indian powwows, gambling, to city and community festivals.
The Summer Playhouse in Big Fork is open from May through August. Here you can experience a live professional repertory theater which features Broadway show standards and draws talent from all around the country.
In Whitefish, the O’Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Center has year-round entertainment that features live theater, music, dance, and poetry. The Whitefish Theater Company also features live theater and music, but also includes other cultural and community events. The Alpine Theater Project is a summer theater which brings fresh productions from Broadway and other places.
Whitefish has a Winter Carnival in February and a Summer Festival in July. Other events occur throughout the year such as the Whitefish Arts Festival, Huckleberry Days and Brewfest, the Christmas Stroll, and Christmas Eve Torchlight Parade which dresses up the town in holiday greenery and lights.
The Hockaday Museum sponsors an annual fund-raiser, Arts in the Park, in Kalispell which is the longest running art and entertainment fair in northwest Montana. All ages enjoy browsing the artistic creations of local and regional artists, various forms of live entertainment, and great food. Of course, it’s a great time for kids to get their faces painted and enjoy hands-on activities, too.
Kalispell also hosts the Glacier Jazz Stampede and the Picnic in the Park summer concert series. The Glacier Symphony and Chorale performs in Kalispell and throughout the Flathead Valley.
Glacier National Park offers a wide range of entertainment. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is an engineering marvel spanning some 50 miles through the park’s interior. It winds through mountainsides and affords the travelers some of the most beautiful sights in northwest Montana.
One of the features on the Going to the Sun Road is Logan Pass. Here visitors will be climbing through glaciers catching glimpses of wildlife and amazing scenery. The Visitor’s Center at Logan Pass straddles the Continental Divide and is open mid-June to mid-September. Just outside the Visitor’s Center is a “must see” nature trail which leads to Hidden Lake Overlook.
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