By GRACE STOPHER, Missoula Cultural Council
Call to Artists:
FIRST NIGHT MISSOULA
First Night Missoula is a community festival celebrating the arts in Missoula. We are currently seeking proposals for creative projects and performances to take place in venues throughout Missoula on December 31, 2016.First night will provide funding, venue space, tech support, and marketing for your creative project or performance. Tell us what you want to see in your community festival and how you plan to make it happen by applying online here. Deadline: June 30, 2016
Local Arts & Culture Events
THIS WEEK: First Friday is June 3rd!
NORTHSIDE/WESTSIDE FIRST FRIDAY BIKE CHALLENGE: In order to draw the downtown art crowd, celebrate the neighborhood, and promote art and bicycles in all their glory, several Northside and Westside First Friday venues are collaborating on a grand scavenger hunt! View the rules and find out how to win prizes by clicking here!
*The Clay Studio of Missoula: Small Works from a Big State
*Real Good Art Space: Things Fall Apart: A Premature Retrospective: Jack Metcalf
*The Zootown Arts Community Center:mixed media paintings: Marvin Pauls’ mixed media class
*Draught Works Brewery: Rachel Chansler: acrylic paintings and drawings
*Missoula Community Food Co-op and Blue Pine Gallery: Jazmine Penelope: MT Quartz and porcelain earrings
*Imagine Nation Brewery: “Community, Naturally” Photography Exhibition by Hobie Hare; and “Beyond Beer Campaign” photography
Missoula Art Museum: Karen McAlister Shimoda: “Field Notes” 5 – 8 PM, Artist Talk at 7 PM
E3 Convergence Gallery: Group Juried Exhibit “Reflections” 5 – 9 PM
Radius Gallery: “Bird Fest!”
In co-hoots with MT Audubon society’s annual Bird Festival, Radius is exhbiting some of the most wonderful celebrations of our winged friends.
4 – 8 PM
It’s Ecology Project International’s annual First Friday Celebration! EPI is celebrating with art, live music, local food trucks, beer and wine, and kids’ activities. Bring the family and join us on this momentous occasion at the historic Swift Center in Missoula. 5 – 8 PM. Enter the raffle to win a Galapagos cruise, a trip to Costa Rica or a weekend in Napa Valley!
FrontierSpace Missoula: AHOY! Works by Koral Halperin, 5 – 9 PM. You can find FrontierSpace in the alleyway at Pine and Higgins.
Artists Along the Bitterroot Studio Tour & Art Sale Visit the website for more info.
Last Days to View First Folio! at MMAC
Monday and Tuesday are the final days to view the First Folio! exhibition at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. The exhibition is open to the public May 9 – 31, 2016.
The First Folio is the first complete collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1623, seven years after his death. Compiled by two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors, it preserves 36 of Shakespeare’s plays. Without it, we would not have 18 of those plays, including “Macbeth,” “Julius Caesar,” “Twelfth Night,” “The Tempest” and “Antony and Cleopatra.”
“Shakespeare’s Sky,” a hands-on exhibition at SpectrUM Discovery Area in downtown Missoula will be on view May 1-31, 2016. Compare tools we use today to Galileo’s first use of the telescope! Call 728-7836 for more information.
View the whole First Folio! schedule online by clicking here.
Last Days to View Capturing Moments: Living Life with Parkinson’s
Don’t miss this special exhibition by Carolyn Montgomery and Hadley Ferguson at Montana Museum of Art & Culture. “Capturing Moments” art installation brings together thousands of journeys of resilience from the global Parkinson’s community. This exhibition is on view through May 31st in the Paxson Gallery. Click here for hours and directions.
“Fun-Raiser” for New Chairs in UM’s Masquer Theatre
The University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance is putting on a “fun-raiser” to replace the last third of seats in UM’s Masquer Theatre. This night of games, laughs, prizes, and surprises on June 2 will push the effort ahead. There are seats left to sponsor and shipping costs to cover as the rest of the chairs make their way to Missoula! The event takes place on June 2 at 6:30 PM in the Masquer Theatre, PARTV Center, on the UM Campus. Admission is free and donations are highly encouraged! Call Christian at 243-4990 for more information about this fundraiser.
Readings & Signings at Fact and Fiction Downtown This Week
On Friday, June 3, listen to Christine Carbo read from her book, Mortal Fall, at 5:30 PM.
On Saturday, June 4, Dominic Farrenkoff will sign copies of his latest, What the Herd Heard, from 10 AM – 12 PM. Also on Saturday from 10:30 AM – 1 PM, Matt Prescott will sign copies of his latest, A Thousand Yesterdays.
Fact & Fiction is located 220 N. Higgins.
31st Annual Out to Lunch Summer Series Begins June 1
The Missoula Downtown Association (MDA) will launch the 31st annual Out to Lunch Summer Series on Wednesday, June 1 and the 16th annual Downtown ToNight Summer Series on Thursday, June 2. These free summer outdoor concerts events take place every week through June, July and August in Caras Park in the heart of Downtown Missoula.
The Out to Lunch Summer Series was started in 1986 and is the longest-standing outdoor food and music event in Montana. Each Wednesday during lunchtime from 11 am to 2 pm, folks can enjoy live music free of charge and/or purchase lunch from one of 23 food trucks and vendors in the park.
Missoula’s Mike Bader Blues Band will grace the stage on the June 1 for Out to Lunch, and the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center will provide free activities for children.
Folks are encouraged to bike, walk and bus into Downtown for Out to Lunch on Wednesdays, and the Out to Lunch Trolley will run each week from the University of Montana South Campus Parking Lot to/from Downtown.
Summer Star-Gazing at the Planetarium
The University of Montana Department of Physics and Astronomy invites the public to its summer planetarium shows in the Payne Family Native American Center Star Gazing Room this May through August. The 50-minute shows will be offered at 6:30 and 8 p.m. on Thursdays May 26, June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21, and Aug. 4 and 18. The maximum capacity for public shows is 28 people, so tickets are limited. Shows generally sell out far in advance and are not available the night of the show. Purchase your tickets online here.
Classes, Workshops & Camps
Open Studio at Zootown Arts Community Center
Inspire. Connect. Create. June 1, 6 – 8 PM, $5 for members
Want to work on your own artwork but have trouble holding yourself accountable? Or you simply want to have fun creating and get ideas from others. The ZACC hosts a drop-in art class for individuals to come and work on their own unique projects in community. We will share what our art needs are and try our best to accomplish our art goals together.
Art Workshops by Nancy Seiler
Nature Journaling Series: Expand your nature journaling skills by exploring different natural history topics. $50 per class (materials list and directions are provided with registration)
Memorial Day Memory Box Workshop: May 30, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Register online or call 370-1254. Visit Nancy’s website for more information and workshops.
Aikido of Missoula Offers Intro to Aikido for Adults
Try the martial art of harmony with an orientation on June 4, followed by four guided basics classes. Call 539-8387 or visit the website for more information.
Summer Writing Camps for Youth
The Missoula Writing Collaborative is offering summer writing camps this year for youth in two age groups: age 8 – 14, and high schoolers. The two sessions are July 11 – 15 and July 18 – 22, with half or full day options. Register online for Missoula Writing Collaborative’s youth summer camps. With questions, call Sarah Kahn at 549-3348.
Missoula Children’s Theatre Offers Summer Camps for Kids
The Missoula Children’s Theatre is ready for summer day camp fun with your Grades 1-12 kids! Convenient, online registration is now available for Blackbeard The Pirate (June 20-26), The Pied Piper (July 5-10) and The Wiz of The West (July 18-24). Register online today