By LINDA McCARTHY
The 8th annual River City Roots Festival is coming up this weekend August 23-25 in the streets of Downtown Missoula. It’s Missoula’s signature celebration of the city we live in, showcasing live music, juried art, family fun, food, drink and a four-mile run. More than 10,000 people attend the admission-free, roots music showcase, and Downtown Missoula is the place to be this weekend.
This weekend also marks the Welcome Home Party for all students, faculty and staff at The University of Montana, as school commences on Monday, Aug. 26. Traffic increases, students are moving in to the dorms, apartments and houses all across town, and Roots Fest is the best way in which to welcome current and new students to this wonderful community we celebrate with this event.
2012 River City Roots Festival. Photo courtesy of MDA.
The best way to consume Roots Fest and Downtown Missoula might look something like this:
- Kick off the weekend Friday night the 23rd and Rally to the Alley behind The Top Hat and the Rhinoceros for a block party at its best. Action gets underway at 5pm with KVD and the Idle Ranch Hands, and lots of food and beverages will be available for sale.
- Head Downtown on the morning of the 24th and enjoy all three of Missoula’s Saturday morning markets, which run until noon and 1pm, depending upon the market.
- Visit the Roots Fest Juried Art Show on West Main Street. We’re showcasing two dozen of Western Montana’s best artists from 11am-7pm for two days.
- Have lunch, dinner or a snack at the Roots Fest Food Court on Ryman Street, where more than 15 of Missoula’s best food vendors will be serving up their wares.
- Grab yourself a glass of locally-brewed beer or wine and enjoy two days of exceptionally-talented lived musical performances by some of the country’s best Americana bands. All entertainment can be found on the Main Street Main Stage between Ryman and Woody streets. The full schedule is here:
Saturday, August 24, 2013
12:30-2:00 pm……………………………………………….. The Whizpops (from Missoula)
2:30-4 pm………………………………………………………………….. Lil’ Smokies (Missoula)
4:30-6 pm……………………………………… Dead Winter Carpenters (Lake Tahoe, NV)
6:30-8 pm………………………………………………….. Goose Creek Symphony (AZ & KY)
8:30-10:30 pm…………………………………………………. Railroad Earth (Stillwater, NJ)
Sunday, August 25, 2013
1:30-3:00 pm……………………………………… Western Union Swing Band (Missoula)
3:30-5:00 pm……….. Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express (San Francisco, CA)
5:30-7:30 pm……………………………………………………………. The Gourds (Austin, TX)
2012 River City Roots Festival. Photo courtesy of MDA.
- Take a run with about 500 other Missoulians and their guests on Sunday morning at 9:30 am. Register online at or an hour before the race at East Railroad Street underneath the Washington Pavilion on East Railroad, just a few steps east of the Red XXXXs on North Higgins. The race begins from there and runs east on Spruce Street, up Greenough Hill, through the neighborhood, Greenough Park, back to Downtown, south on Pattee Street to the riverfront trail, finishing underneath the Higgins Avenue Bridge in Caras Park.
- If you have children, be sure to visit the Children’s Family Fun Festivities in Caras Park on either Saturday or Sunday. Action will run from 12-6 pm on Saturday and 10 am-4 pm on Sunday. More than 30 organizations and businesses serving kids in our community will be there showcasing exceptional fun, music, entertainment and more.
Roots Fest is admission free, but we ask you to support this festival with your purchases of food and beverages, art and fun at the festival, as well as your patronage of Downtown Missoula’s businesses. The generosity of more than 50 Missoula-area businesses and their sponsorship of this event is what make Roots Fest so special. We hope you have a great experience. Welcome to Missoula!
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Linda McCarthy has been a Missoula resident for more than 25 years and serves as Executive Director of the Missoula Downtown Association, a private non-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to promoting, supporting and enhancing the vitality of Downtown Missoula. She and her family live in the Farviews Neighborhood, and her husband, Tom Gallagher, is a computer science professor at UM’s Missoula College. Linda holds two degrees from The University of Montana and was the 2008 Montana Alumni of the Year.
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