By TOM BENSEN
The Missoula Art Museum presents Jeneese Hilton: Raven Reviewing Modern through August 22; The Andy Warhol Collection from Museum Of Art at Washington State University through August 15; John Thompson: A Celebration through August 29; Montana Triennial: 2015 through September 4; American Abstract Artists through August 29; Chasing Time: Montana’s One-Room Schools, through September 19 (pictured here); Kathryn Schmidt: Seen In Broad Daylight through October 24.
The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents Human Condition: The Art of Ben Steele and Hometown: Images of Missoula from the MMAC Permanent Collection in the Paxson and Meloy Galleries, now through September 12. MMAC presents From Goya to Picasso: A History of War in Art presented by artist and scholar Henry Freedman, Thursday, July 30, 7:00 p.m. at the UM PARTV Center – Masquer Theater.
Award-winning bluegrass entertainers Monroe Crossing returns to Missoula to present “The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass” with Missoula’s Dolce Canto as part of the Snowbowl Mountain Music Series on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. Visit the Dolce Canto website for more information.
The Missoula Downtown Association presents Out to Lunch on Wednesdays 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and Downtown Tonight Thursday evenings 5:30-8:30 p.m. through the summer at Caras Park. This week features the Hardin-Scott Band on Wednesday and Mudslide Charlie on Thursday. All events are free.
The Missoula City Band presents free concerts in Bonner Park beginning at 8:00 p.m. each Wednesday. This week’s program is Missoula’s 150th Birthday with Ellie Nuno.
Fact and Fiction presents Jenny Milchman reading and signing As Night Falls, 7:00 p.m. July 27 at F&F Downtown; Find Waldo Missoula continues throughout July. Grab a passport and look for Waldo in 25 Downtown businesses. When you find him, enter drawing for books.
Shakespeare and Co. presents Carl Fiedler and Stephen Arno, reading and signing Ponderosa: People, Fire and the West’s Most Iconic Tree, 7:00 p.m. on July 28; JP Kemmick reading from his Merriam-Frontier chapbook Space City, USA, 7:00 p.m. on August 1
The Roxy Theater presents Cast Party: Podcast Festival Live in Cinemas on July 28 at 7:00 p.m., and the Roxy and CFAC present Symphony of Soil, Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00 p.m.
Bayern Brewery presents Pint Night July 29 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. to benefit the International Choral Festival. This is also a great time to bring all your beer bottles in to recycle. We have the upstairs beer hall reserved and the International Choral Festival Octet will be performing live music, as well as the folk band Wolf and the Moons. There will be lots of food provided, and a 50/50 raffle for a chance to win a pot of money. Hope to see you there. 1507 Montana Street.
Tickets for the Missoula Community Theatre season are now on sale. Order your subscriptions online anytime, night or day at the website. Don’t miss Sweeney Todd, The Sound of Music, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), and Mary Poppins. MCT is theatre FOR the community BY the community, so plan now for your friends and family to enjoy live theatre all season.
The Missoula Symphony Orchestra returns to Caras Park on Sunday, August 9 at 7:00 p.m. for its 11th annual Symphony in the Park concert. Music Director Darko Butorac will lead the orchestra through a lively program of movie scores, dance numbers and light classics. Food and beverage may be purchased from on-site vendors and lawn chairs are encouraged. The event is free and fun for the whole family. For more information on Symphony in the Park and the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, please call 721-3194 or visit the website.
The Fine Grain Group is a small group of photographers who are committed to the art of photography. They meet regularly to share work and critiques. Nine of the members recently opened a group show at the Catalyst, showing a total of 21 images. 111 North Higgins downtown.
Radius Gallery presents Scapes: Land, Sea, Mind, an exhibit featuring 80 artworks and 61 artists, now through August 8. This week features Karen McAlister Shimoda: Urban Development: East of Main (pictured here), and Urban Development: South of Main, Ink on Drawing Film. These works look like a slowly disintegrating leaf, and are also also aerial shots of downtown Missoula.
The Missoula Outdoor Cinema is back at it for another summer at 1001 Worden Ave (Head Start) every Saturday evening at dusk. The August 1 film is How to Train Your Dragon.
Tangled Tones presents Summer Camps 2015, for various ages and interests. Summer of Rock and Digital Recording Camp. Visit here for more information.
Kids and kids at heart are invited to join Missoula Parks and Recreation for Kidsfest 2015, a free summer celebration for Missoula families at Caras Park on Tuesday, July 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Admission and most activities are free. Kidsfest features a wide variety of interactive games, arts and crafts, educational booths, live entertainment and fun activities for all ages. Families can enter a raffle drawing with great prizes and purchase food and beverages from local vendors. The Salamanders, a local all-ages rock band, is headlining the event. For more information about visit the website or phone 721-PARK.
The Missoula Summer Dance Intensive is in its second season at the Downtown Dance Collective, and this year is offering evening classes to the larger community of movers, shakers, doers, and embodied beings. August 10-15. Classes meet 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the Downtown Dance Collective.
SPARK! – Arts Ignite Learning is currently seeking individual artists and arts organizations to apply for our 2015-2016 teaching artist directory who: work in any visual, movement, theatre, music, or literary discipline; have previous experience teaching K-8 students in a classroom setting; are passionate about arts integration; delight in collaboration. Information session is August 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Silver (formerly the World Theatre and Event Center, 2023 South Higgins). Organizations applying must be not-for-profit in nature. SPARK! is a community wide partnership working to expand arts programming in Missoula County Public Schools. We facilitate and foster connections between district schools and local arts organizations, helping to ensure access to the arts for all MCPS students. SPARK! is a national partner in the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child Initiative. Learn more about our approach to arts education and what it means to be a SPARK! teaching artist at this information session. For more information, call Chris at 531-1981.
The Zootown Fringe Festival 2015 is Missoula’s third annual performance arts festival. Continuing the Fringe legacy that began in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1947 (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Zootown Fringe Festival will celebrate and honor alternative theater and visual art in various venues throughout Missoula, August 17- 23. This year’s Zootown Fringe Festival will continue to focus on supporting the performing arts community along with showcasing Missoula as a venue for artists to perform and exhibit. The Zootown Fringe Festival is a performing arts Smörgåsbord of self-produced, non-juried, un-censored performances. It is an avenue for performers to showcase bold, fresh, and original live works that explore the edges of performance while providing audiences the opportunity to experience the outer-limits of performing arts. The Zootown Fringe Festival does not produce any shows, run any venue or pay any fees to artists. All applicants are accepted. Anyone can perform or exhibit. Visit the website for more information.
The Missoula Symphony Orchestra returns to Caras Park on Sunday, August 9 at 7 p.m. for its 11th annual Symphony in the Park concert. Music Director Darko Butorac will lead the orchestra through a lively program of movie scores, dance numbers and light classics. Food and beverage may be purchased from on-site vendors and lawn chairs are encouraged. The event is free and fun for the whole family. For more information on Symphony in the Park and the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, please call 406-721-3194 or visit the website.
The deadline for early registration for Bear Hug Dance and Music festival is coming up. If you register before July 31 you save $10 and you guarantee yourself a spot at this wonderful weekend full of great contra dancing and toe tapping music. This year the musicians will be Eric Anderson with Eileen Nicholson and Helena Handbasket. The callers will be Sherry Nevins and Roy Curet. This weekend takes place on the shores of beautiful Flathead Lake in Northwest Montana. Along with a weekend of dancing, music and workshops, you also have an opportunity to enjoy the lake with canoes, kayaks, and a swimming dock provided by the camp.
Large art studio with window opening up at The Zootown Arts Community Center on August 1st. All utilities paid. Includes wifi,coffee pot, access to lots of artist resources, and a chance to be a part of a thriving arts community center. $350 a month. Visit here for more information.
For more information about arts events in the Missoula area, visit our website
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Tom Bensen has lived in Missoula since 1986, and has been the executive director of the Missoula Cultural Council since June 2004. He has directed First Night Missoula each New Year’s Eve since 1997. He is a member of Missoula’s choral ensemble Dolce Canto, and enjoys being outdoors, whether it is hiking, biking, skiing, walking the dogs, or mowing the lawn. His wife Susan works for Montana Public Radio, and their son Peter attends Hellgate High School.