Beaverton, OR: cc-TDI researcher and father, and former Bozemanite Andy Woods publishes new Wilms’ tumor research findings in honor of his daughter thanks to generous foundation and community crowdfunding support.

Wilms’ tumor is the most common form of kidney cancer in pediatrics, affecting approximately 500 children per year in North America. “Children with Wilms’ tumors driven by a gene called MYCN, particularly those with anaplastic (or unfavorable) histology, tend to fare more poorly than those without MYCN abnormalities. MYCN has been notoriously challenging to block,” said Michael Ortiz, MD, Assistant Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and co-author on the study. “Our rigorous investigation used a focused drug screen and found that BRD4 inhibition was a promising novel approach to target MYCN driven Wilms’ tumors. These findings were then validated in a large cohort of cell line and patient derived xenograft Wilms tumor models with encouraging results worthy of consideration in future clinical studies.”

The study was led by cc-TDI researcher Andy Woods and was inspired by his daughter, an anaplastic Wilms’ tumor survivor. “Stellablue was diagnosed with Wilms tumor when she was just 4 years old. For me,” Andy says, “the thought of losing our daughter threw me into super-Dad mode, I wanted to fight this as hard as we could, no matter what we had to do.” What Andy decided to do was a bit extraordinary. “I recognized that we needed more-promising treatment options for children like Stella and it became my goal to make this a reality. I poured over scientific journals, spending all of my free time learning the language of science and cancer, looking for research which might be promising for Wilms’ tumor.” Andy was hooked. He had become passionate about children with cancer, science, and cancer research. And while Andy’s daughter has since made a full recovery, he has made it his mission to continue studying Wilms’ tumor in Stella’s honor.

“What makes these results exciting is that MYCN has not been targeted in Wilms’ tumor before,” Andy says. “Our study potentially provides the pre-clinical rationale for a new therapeutic approach in Wilms’ tumor.” The article, Bromodomain 4 inhibition leads to MYCN downregulation in Wilms’ tumor will be published in the December 2021 issue of Pediatric Blood & Cancer. An online ahead of print link may be found at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pbc.29401.


“Andy’s story is unique, being the father of an anaplastic Wilms’ tumor survivor and coming from the background of being a college-educated stone and tile mason,” comments Charles Keller MD, cc-TDI’s founder and Andy’s mentor. “The often-fatal prognosis for his daughter moved Andy to understand cancer biology and then to enter the field of cancer research, ultimately studying his daughter’s type of cancer (and emerging as a published world expert). From our initial meeting to his position today as a Senior Research Associate at cc-TDI, Andy has displayed a high level of determination and dedication to making a difference not only for his daughter, but also for the many other children who suffer from pediatric cancer. In my 21 years of training high school students, college students, medical students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, Andy ranks in the top 0.0001% for grit.”

For more information regarding this study or Andy’s research, please contact Erika at erika@cc-tdi.org.

This scientific study was sponsored by a significant number of pediatric foundations and the Wilms’ tumor community at large. Using a jigsaw approach to funding, this research was made possible thanks to the generous support from the following foundations, community partners and crowdfunding support. Thank you to the

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About cc-TDI: The Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI), (www.cc-tdi.org) is a non- profit biotech organization whose mission is to translate scientific discovery into clinical trials by understanding and providing new disease-specific treatment options for children with cancer. cc-TDI’s research team of biologists and biomedical engineers, work closely to identify targets on cancer cells and provide evidence-based testing for the selection of new drugs to be used in childhood cancer phase I and phase II clinical trials.

cc-TDI Media Contact: Erika Ellis, Communications Lead (erika@cc-tdi.org). Social media: Facebook and Twitter @cctdilab, Instagram @cctdi, LinkedIn @Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute.

The Children's Festival of the Book returns to Bozeman for a 13th year this November. Presented by the Bozeman Public Library, the event features nationally renowned authors and illustrators in addition to regional writers. It is the only festival in Montana dedicated exclusively to children’s books and childhood literacy.

This year’s event brings children’s author Chris Barton and author/illustrator Don Tate, as well as local author Janet Fox, to select school classrooms on Friday, November 12. The featured guests will also be available for a book signing and book sales at the Bozeman Public Library on Saturday, November 13. Registration is required for the book signing. For details, visit https://www.bozemanlibrary.org/services/for/kids/children-s-festival-of-the-book.

Because of COVID-19, the festival will be structured differently from previous years. The
visiting authors will film “Live from the Library” presentations that will be made available to
all elementary classrooms on Friday, November 12. The general public will also have access to
those presentations on the Library website until Friday, November 19. All who love children’s
books are invited!

Books can be purchased for signing on the day of the event at the Library. They are also
available any time prior to the event at the Country Bookshelf or at
www.countrybookshelf.com. A portion of book sales supports the Children's Festival of the
Book.

In keeping with the Bozeman Public Library policy, we strongly encourage masks and social
distancing while visiting the Library.

The Festival is made possible by the Bozeman Public Library Foundation, Humanities
Montana, Country Bookshelf, MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development,
Magpie Guesthouse, Audrey Haight, Jane and Bill Quinn, and others who value the
importance of children’s writers and illustrators.

For more information, please call the Children's Desk at 582-2404.

TravelStorysGPS Soars to New Heights with Launching Its Milestone 200th Tour
Jackson Hole-based mobile technology company TravelStorysGPS is celebrating the launch of its 200th geolocated audio tour, which is dedicated to female champions of land conservation. The company now hosts the largest library of curated, geolocated U.S. audio tours on a professionally maintained platform, TravelStorys™.

TravelStorysGPS founder and CEO Story Clark states, “This is a momentous milestone for our company. We started with the goal, the dream really, of connecting travelers everywhere to the fascinating and inspiring stories that communities and landscapes have to tell. As stories are the currency of memory, we wanted to fill travelers’ memories with great stories about the places they visit.”

What began as a Girl Scouts project for a young Princeton, New Jersey, resident, Madeleine Freundlich, to help to protect the land in her area evolved into this beautifully crafted mobile audio tour telling the stories of the passionate women who came before her. The Women in Conservation tour guides listeners through a 220-acre preserve protected by D&R Greenway Land Trust, sharing stories of more than a dozen women who have had a profound impact on our global landscape, including women's suffrage advocate Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who helped to establish Everglades National Park, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who pioneered the Green Belt Movement in Africa, and Story Clark herself.

Clark has dedicated her life to land conservation and helping national parks and nonprofit organizations raise funding and awareness to further their own missions. She launched TravelStorysGPS in 2013 with its debut tour from Jackson to Teton Pass, soon followed by a second tour in Grand Teton National Park. Since then, the TravelStorys tour library has grown to 200 tours nationwide and internationally, including more than 60 in the Mountain West region—with many more on the way. The TravelStorysGPS team specializes in providing expert, one-on-one guidance and support throughout the entire tour-building process, ensuring high-quality, customized products that engage, educate and entertain its users.

TravelStorysGPS's mission is connecting people to places in a memorable way by combining history and exploration in its presentation of stories that offer invaluable insights about the lands they are seeing in real time—hands-free. Visitors and locals alike can download the TravelStorys app for free to serve as their guide to the world around them and enjoy tours on location or remotely.

TravelStorysGPS is a female-owned and -led software-as-a-service company and Best Mobile AppAwards 2018 April winner for best mobile app design. Not only was the tech company  founded by a woman, but it is also run by a team of strong, resourceful women, who build outstanding rapport with their clients and have a genuine love and connection to the land. “What better way to commemorate our women-led company than by honoring important women in the land conservation sector,” says Clark.

“Our mission is to pair the greatest communication tool of our time—the smartphone—with the greatest communication tool of all time—storytelling—to enrich the on-site and remote traveler’s experience,” Clark adds. “Storytelling is the captivating and enduring way that we entertain and communicate best with each other and learn about places. I wanted to use mobile app technology as a portal to, rather than a barrier from, connecting us to great places. Even if a listener never gets out of their car, they will now be able to connect with the land in a meaningful and unique way.”

About TravelStorysGPS: TravelStorysGPS LLC is a mission-driven mobile app development company based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, transforming cultural interpretation and enjoyment of places into accessible and memorable experiences. TravelStorysGPS leverages fun facts and the power of storytelling to forge a real-time connection to place. For publishers, TravelStorysGPS meets the communication and outreach needs of charitable organizations, public agencies, and businesses through the latest developments in location-based storytelling and delivery. Learn more at travelstorys.com and download and explore the TravelStorys app for free on the App Store and Google Play Store.

About D&R Greenway Land Trust: D&R Greenway Land Trust is an accredited nonprofit that has reached a new milestone of over 21,000 acres of land preserved throughout central New Jersey since 1989. By protecting land in perpetuity and creating public trails, it gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. The land trust’s preserved farms and community gardens provide local organic food for residents of the region—including those most in need. Through strategic land conservation and stewardship, D&R Greenway combats climate change, protects birds and wildlife, and ensures clean drinking water for future generations. D&R Greenway's mission is centered on connecting land with people from all walks of life.

Mopac Audio - a subsidiary of the leading, independent Austin-based production company Megalomedia - today announced a new true crime podcast, “An Absurd Result.” In this seven-part series, host and University of Montana journalism professor Jule Banville unravels the shocking case of assault survivor Linda Tokarski Glantz and wrongfully convicted Jimmy Bromgard. Available October 27th on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts, “An Absurd Result” will feature first-hand stories and experiences from both Glantz and Bromgard alongside Banville's deep research and interviews of those involved, including more recent developments revealed in the series. Listeners can hear the official trailer now.

“What happened with Linda is that she changed. She went from never talking openly about what happened to her, even through all the twists, to answering every question and wanting listeners of this podcast to know everything,” says host Jule Banville, who met Linda in 2015 and has been thinking about how to tell her story ever since.

“An Absurd Result” chronicles the fallout after a Billings, Montana, home invasion and sexual assault. In 1987, a man broke into Linda’s house through a bathroom window. She was 8. There were seven home during the attack, but the man left without being caught. The investigation led to a rushed conviction of 18-year old Jimmy Bromgard, who had a minor criminal history. After serving nearly 15 years in prison, Bromgard was exonerated through the Innocence Project. Twelve years after he walked out, a new sample in the criminal DNA database hit on someone else arrested on a drug charge. The podcast investigates the problems with prosecuting a man whose DNA explicitly places him in Linda’s bedroom during the assault.

“Mopac Audio wants to give listeners compelling podcasts as told by the people who are most closely connected to the stories. In this case, we are immensely proud of Linda’s courage and resilience as well as Jule’s indefatigable work,” states Jonathan Beal, General Manager of Mopac Audio. “Together they have combined to deliver a series that will both rivet audiences and hopefully compel the legal system to close a glaring loophole.”

The podcast investigates how this shocking crime and its legal twists expose larger problems in the criminal justice system, specifically when the push to test the backlog of rape kits meets states’ laws and the statutes of limitation for their case. It illustrates what happens when an old case with new evidence goes through the legal system, and how a solvable crime with irrefutable evidence can fall through the cracks.

Building on Mopac’s growing success in the true crime space, “An Absurd Result" follows its highly successful podcast “LISK: Long Island Serial Killer.” The release of this new true crime podcast continues Mopac’s promise to deliver high quality audio content that focuses on in-depth narratives and storytelling. Mopac was created as a subsidiary of Megalomedia, whose mission is to impact and inspire lives by seizing ordinary moments of people discovering a way to improve their reality and strive to do good for those around them.

BOZEMAN – Hunter success was above average in a few areas of southwest Montana during opening weekend of the general hunting season, which began Oct. 23.

Wildlife biologists with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks operated six game check stations over the weekend and met with 1,880 hunters. Biologists use check stations to collect data on hunter participation and success, as well as the species, sex and age class of the animals harvested. This supplements data collected through hunter harvest phone surveys each year.

The Alder check station saw 330 hunters, about 16 percent of whom had harvested an animal. This is double the success rate measured during opening weekend last year and is up from the station’s average success rate of 12 percent.

The Cameron check station also saw above-average hunter success. About 11 percent of the 579 hunters checked there were successful, compared to a 9.3-percent average.

Biologists also operated check stations at Divide, Gallatin, Townsend and York. Hunter success rates at these stations were within long-term averages.

In total, biologists checked eight white-tailed deer, 27 mule deer and 150 elk. They also checked six pronghorn, one moose and one black bear.

These figures do not account for different hunting season regulations over the years, which have varied from liberal to restrictive for elk and mule deer, depending on population status.

Wish to save money on your energy bills? You can achieve it by using a combination of cheap energy plans and smart electricity consumption that does the trick. Here is a list of some effective ways that can help minimize your energy bill.

Choose The Right Electricity Plan
The electricity market is usually deregulated in most places which gives you the flexibility to shop around a bit and choose the plan that saves you money. The electricity plan that you choose can impact your monthly budget and savings significantly.

Opting for a fixed-rate electricity plan is usually recommended to avoid the off-contract rates. Always compare the current rate you pay with what you will have to pay if you choose the new plan.

Make It A Habit To Turn Off The Electronics When Not In Use
This may be nothing new, but it is important enough to mention, because it is extremely effective in helping you lower your electricity bills.

Your electronic gadgets consume some electricity even when they’re on standby, so turning them off is crucial.

Use Ceiling Fans Instead Of Air Conditioning- Whenever Possible
Air conditioners provide unparalleled comfort for anyone. However, when the weather is pleasant outside, consider turning off your ACs, and use your ceiling fans instead. Ceiling fans don’t consume as much electricity as ACs do, so you will save a decent amount by doing this.

Clean Your AC Filters
Your AC uses a lot of electricity. If the system has to work hard, then it will pull a lot of energy. So you need to ensure that it runs smoothly. Leave the vents open so that you can maximise the airflow, and remember to change the filters frequently so that the air conditioning does not consume excess electricity.

Check The Energy Ratings Of The Appliances
Remember to always check the energy star ratings before purchasing an appliance. These star-rated appliances use less electricity than the non-star rating ones. You can expect to save 50 per cent or even more with the star-rated appliances.

Switch To LED Lighting
LED lights do not just help to save energy but are also cheap. A 60 watt LED uses just 9 watts of electricity, while an average CFL bulb uses 13 watts. When you replace one CFL bulb with an LED, it results in a 30% reduction in electricity consumption.

If you add up the total number of lights in your home and the number of hours you use them, you will find that replacing them with LED bulbs, though initially expensive, will save you several thousands of dollars in the long run.

Play With The Blinds 
Instead of making your thermostat work harder, just shut the blinds and keep the heat out of your room. Such simple steps can help you reduce the amount of time you run your AC, thus saving you a decent amount of money.

Work Towards Saving Energy As A Family
Working towards the common goal helps to minimise and enjoy cheap energy bills.
Saving money on electricity bills will only be possible if you get your whole family to understand the importance of it and work together. Parents should educate their children on ways to conserve energy.

Information is everywhere. The world has never been more connected and more in touch with itself than it currently is. Not too long ago, news from other continents moved slowly if at all, and when it reached distant lands it was up to the delivery of that news which was often subjective.

Nowadays things are different. Cell phones and social media platforms bring current events in real-time to a global audience like never before. Thoughts, opinions, and world views have never been so easy to share and so easy to discover. In the midst of all these new forms of mass communication, another aspect of human society has also been greatly impacted - and that’s the world of marketing!

Never before has there been such a challenge to market than right now. The world is full of voices, noises, stories and products and people have never been more connected to that stimulus than they presently are in 2021. So that raises a question - in the midst of so much distraction, how does a company get someone’s attention? How does a brand stand out from the noise and the clamor and actually draw in not only an audience by a clientele?

Marketing has always been a field of fresh and new challenges. Regardless of the levels of access to mass information that the common person has had, marketing has always sought to do the same thing - get attention and develop buy-in. This process has a lot of nuance and is unique to not just cultures and societies but even geographic locations.

What works for marketing in one part of the country may not work in others just based on social history and unique demographic differences. Also, the pool of individuals who are able to engage in marketing is growing and growing. Tools like social media platforms, youtube and even tik-tok have revolutionized the way that companies market their resources. The access that normal people have to these marketing tools has also impacted the world of marketing as now ‘creators’ and ‘influencers’ are some of the largest sources of independent marketing available.

Here are four things we believe every company needs to try and implement when it comes to marketing in this competitive world. 

Know Your Brand and Know Your Market

Two words that every company wants to hear when it comes to spreading their brand are ‘viral marketing’. The concept of viral marketing as it is known in the digital age is a fairly new one. When platforms of communication like Twitter and youtube became common staples, the concepts of viral emergence became a household norm.

Whether it was a hilarious Vine (RIP) or tweet from Miley Cyrus, the ability for a piece of information to immediately be consumed by literally millions of people changed the course of marketing. Now, with access to billions of potential customers or patrons, the ability for a company to brand itself for viral marketing is crucial.

This means knowing your brand inside and out and knowing why it should be viral. This impacts not just your mission as a company but the imaging of your company. Everything from color scheme, to font type to social media presence plays a role in viral marketing and there are experts who can help build your brand to be ready for the spark of viral ignition! 

Finance Properly

The ability to market usually takes equity of some sort and sometimes that means acquiring a loan. Bridge loans are fast, easy, and great ways to safely secure the capital that you need to get your marketing on point. 

Marketing itself is not cheap. While there are always ways of practicing frugality within business, cutting corners when it comes to marketing is rarely the correct option. With the mass spread of media and the uprising of stellar content from private creators, making sure that your brand doesn’t get washed to the back of the room due to poor quality is crucial. 

Investing properly into marketing is key to be sure and provide your marketing team with the best equipment affordable in order to ensure your best chances of catching attention. 

Make it Personal - That’s The Biggest Win

No matter what marketing strategy you are following there is one area that you can always excel in past your competition. If you invest in the high-grade equipment, a competitor can always invest in higher. However, when it comes to making your brand as personal - you set your own limits.

The ability to market to an audience, not just another product but instead something personal to them is all the difference. Platforms like Community.com utilize text based marketing solutions to help grow your brand and your community.

By investing in direct communication to your audience, your brand has the chance to grow into a unique place on the market of not just being ‘another good or service’. This personal buy-in can represent a powerful way of not just being a sale, but a reproducible sale. When consumers become passionate about what they are consuming - the natural reaction is to share that consumption with others. This is a part of viral marketing that personalized communication can do.

Combining convenience and personal connection is a powerful tool for any company seeking to expand its marketing techniques in 2021. 

Get Guidance That Has High ROI

Don’t kid yourself if you need help - simply get it! There are industry professionals who are gifted at helping grow businesses and push companies to achieve their marketing goals. Kevin Miller is one such consultant that represents a massive improvement in the companies he’s consulted for.

Asking for help outside of your own structures and bringing in fresh minds and fresh eyes can have long lasting impacts on your company and a high ROI. Sometimes - to think outside of the box, you have to bring help that literally is outside of it! 

Invest in Software That Makes Sense

A huge aspect of marketing is the experience that a potential customer has with your product. The harsh reality is that it doesn’t matter if you have the best marketing strategy, a killer product and even a solid sales team - if the interactions between your product and the customer aren’t good, it will always pose a challenge.

Investing in software such as Salesforce can have long lasting impacts on your business. When a person begins to interact with your company, the process of that interaction going smoothly and successfully is the difference between creating an interested party and a loyal customer.

It can be daunting to think about overhauling software as many small businesses can feel intimidated by computer codes and online platforms. However, this doesn't have to be the case. Reaching out to trained professionals who can help you set up your business for success has never been easier. Not only providing your customers with great tools to interact with you - but giving your business the tools it needs to see analytical insight that can grow your brand.

Conclusion

In short, marketing may seem daunting - but rest assured that there are plenty of great tools and amazing consultants out there that can get your brand to where it needs to be. The most important thing you can do is just start researching and working toward your goals, and with some help - you’ll get there!  

A team from Montana State University, Tufts University and the Specialty Coffee Association has published a study finding that coffee quality is sensitive to shifts in environmental factors linked to climate change as well as to shifts in climate adaptation strategies.

The paper, “Climate Change and Coffee Quality: Systematic Review on the Effects of Environmental and Management Variation on Secondary Metabolites and Sensory Attributes of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora,” was published this month in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

Past research has focused on how climate change impacts crop yields, according to Selena Ahmed, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Health and Human Development in the College of Education, Health and Human Development and one of the paper’s lead authors. But recent studies have begun to look at how climate change impacts crop quality based on its biochemical composition, which influences the flavor of coffee, as well as its nutritional and health attributes.

“All of the biochemical compounds in coffee beans are critical to coffee quality,” she said. “Shifts in the biochemical composition of coffee loop back into the food system as it impacts the way consumers’ experience the flavor of coffee and their decisions about purchasing coffee. In turn, consumer decision-making impacts farmers’ livelihoods as well as how they manage their farms, with tremendous implications for sustainability.”

The research team included co-authors from MSU; Tufts; the nonprofit Specialty Coffee Association, an industry group, and its research arm, the Coffee Science Foundation; and Bozeman-based Treeline Coffee. They include Sarah Brinkley, Erin Smith, Ariella Sela, Mitchell Theisen, Cyrena Thibodeau, Teresa Warne, Evan Anderson, Natalie Van Dusen, Peter Giuliano, Kim Elena lonescu and Sean B. Cash. Students – including graduate students in MSU’s sustainable food systems program, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Texas A & M University – participated in the research.

For their study, the researchers screened approximately 1,600 peer-reviewed scientific papers published between 2000 and 2018. From those papers, they identified 73 that addressed the study’s research questions to include in their review.

The team found two clear trends, according to Sarah Brinkley, a graduate student at Texas A&M University and co-author: Increased altitude is associated with improved flavor and aroma of coffee, and increased light exposure is associated with decreased sensory attributes of coffee. They also found, in general, that coffee quality is vulnerable to changes in water stress, temperature, levels of carbon dioxide in the air and nutrient management.

“For years, coffee farmers have told buyers that the climate is changing and complicating their work, but the impacts of those changes on coffee flavor have been based on anecdotal evidence and, sometimes, on speculation,” said Kim Elena Ionescu, chief sustainability and knowledge development officer at the Specialty Coffee Association.

Erin Smith, an alumna of MSU’s sustainable food systems graduate program and paper co-author, said more research is needed in these areas to learn about the effects of shifts in carbon dioxide, water stress and temperature on coffee quality, as well as how those shifts vary with location, elevation and management conditions.

Co-author Sean Cash, an economist and the Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition at Tufts University, noted that more is at stake than just the taste of what is in coffee cups. For example, he said, changes in coffee prices in Guatemala in 2019 drove some farmers to leave the country.

“Climate change impacts on crops are already causing economic and political disruption in many parts of the world, and it’s important to understand the science to know what further impacts might occur,” Cash said.

The team also found that climate adaptation strategies on farms around the world, such as managing light exposure by maintaining canopy coverage and through on-farm diversification, are promising for maintaining or improving coffee quality, Ahmed said. In turn, evidence-based strategies could also help farmers sustain their livelihoods, she added. 

“A better understanding of the relationship between climate and coffee quality is overdue and will be essential for the specialty coffee industry to adapt to the challenges we are facing and to thrive in the future,” said Peter Giuliano, executive director of the Coffee Science Foundation.

Natalie Van Dusen, a founder and owner of Treeline Coffee Roasters in Bozeman and a co-author on the study, said that the findings are relevant to her business.

“Treeline's coffee sourcing and buying strategy is built on establishing long-term relationships with our farmers,” Van Dusen said. “This entails having a deeper understanding of the profound impact that climate change has on their business and the importance of that impact. It is our goal that with a better global understanding of these factors, we can all do a better job working together to make positive change.”

Alison Harmon, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Development, called the team’s work pioneering.

“Dr. Ahmed and the team’s findings support optimizing of coffee production, and the findings also can be relevant to other crops important for local economies and communities,” Harmon said.

Ultimately, it’s important to understand how climate affects all crops so that changes in climate can be managed to support food security, nutrition and farmer livelihoods, Ahmed said.

“This is important to study for all food and beverages, not just for coffee,” she said. “By understanding and managing the biochemical composition of crops along with other attributes of sustainability, we can better support the food system to be resilient to disruptions.”

The Bozeman MADE fair is this Sunday, October 31st, and we are excited to connect artists with the Gallatin Valley community once again. Shop and discover a curated collection of over 170 local and regional artists. You can expect to see everything from affordable, functional works of art to fine heirloom pieces at the show.

Those interested in a head start on their shopping can purchase a New VIP Pass valid for an hour before the show opens to the public. Beat the crowds and purchase VIP passes for $10 for 10 am-11 am, and it will get you a solid head start before everyone else. Every year we pick a non-profit to work with to help further their mission. All of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go to a local Gallatin County Non-Profit.

Last year we (handMADE Montana- presenters of the MADE fairs) made the difficult and responsible decision to cancel all of our four in-person events. We put energy and time into promoting our artists digitally via the website and social media.  With the recent success of the Missoula Summer MADE fair, we cautiously approach the upcoming fall and holiday events. Masks are encouraged when social distancing is not an option, and the layout at the upcoming Bozeman MADE fair will have additional room to roam.

The one-day event will once again feature indoor Trick-or-Treating (over 120 booths participatin) and an all-ages Costume Contest at 1 pm. New moms can enjoy some quiet feeding time for the littles at the Family Care Area provided by the Gallatin Breastfeeding Coalition. Make a day of it with your friends and enjoy strolling the aisles and supporting your local artists. Visit our website for additional details and pre-shop all of the participating artists.

 The MADE fair is a modern art & handcrafted market featuring local & regional artists and makers. Our events are a curated collection of skilled artisans as well as a handful of non-profits. The MADE fair’s mission is to increase awareness of handmade goods as an alternative to mass-produced items and support local and regional small craft businesses by providing a place to sell their goods. We provide opportunities to artists of all levels—from the hobbyist to the seasoned professional. The MADE fairs are presented by handMADE Montana—the recently named Retailer of the Year Award by the Made in Montana program.

BOZEMAN — An off-field competition between Montana State University and the University of Montana to see which school can collect the most donations for its local food bank will be held Nov. 6 through Nov. 20. The Can the Griz food drive, as the annual friendly battle is known to Bobcat fans, is now in its 22nd year.

The drive will begin at midnight on Friday, Nov. 6, and conclude at the end of the first quarter of the annual Brawl of the Wild football game between MSU and UM on Saturday, Nov. 20, according to Kim Cleary, community engagement program manager in the MSU Office of Student Engagement. A winner will be announced on Can the Griz social media accounts later during the game on Nov. 20.

Organizers ask that nonperishable food donations be taken to collection locations throughout Gallatin County to support those in need. A list of participating locations can be found at canthegriz.com. Donations directly to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank may be dropped off at its location at 602 Bond St. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays; morning drop-offs are preferred.

Nonperishable donations can be dropped off at most local grocery stores. Look for donation bins near the front of each store. Garden produce can be dropped off at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.

Large donation drop offs must be scheduled in advance with Jon Horn at jhorn@thehrdc.org. Cleary encouraged those who want to donate to plan ahead, to not wait until the final day and to utilize drop-off locations around the area. More information on drop-off times and details can be found on the Can the Griz website.

“Can the Griz is a great opportunity for our community to support each other,” Cleary said. “Our food drive totals during the pandemic were really inspiring. Although we lost the competition last year, the food that was donated impacted so many people in the valley when they needed it the most. Let’s use that as motivation to come together and raise a record amount of food and money for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank this year.”

Monetary donations may also be made directly to the Gallatin County Food Bank by visiting https://gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org/#donate. Each dollar counts as one pound of food. Bobcat supporters can add their contributions to MSU’s total by telling the food bank their donation is for Can the Griz. In addition, donations can be made to @canthegriz via Venmo.

Last year, MSU and Bobcat supporters donated 150,290 pounds of food and $252,893 to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Pounds and dollars are added together for the contest, resulting in a total of 403,183 pounds for the Bozeman community. The Can the Cats food drive in Missoula brought in the equivalent of 671,707 pounds of food for the Missoula Food Bank. Bozeman and the MSU community have won the competition 17 out of the 21 years it has been held.

Donations from Can the Griz will help the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, as well as the Bounty of the Bridgers food pantry, year-round. The Gallatin Valley Food Bank is one of the HRDC Food and Nutrition Programs’ Initiatives. The Bounty of the Bridgers, housed in the Office of Health Advancement, is a student-driven initiative to combat food waste and insecurity on the MSU campus for students, faculty and staff.

Can the Griz is coordinated by the MSU Office of Student Engagement and the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Community members interested in more details on how to participate or volunteer can visit the Can the Griz website or its Facebook and Instagram pages. For more information or to host a collection box, please contact the MSU Office of Student Engagement at 406-994-2933 or email canthegriz@montana.edu.