The Artists’ Gallery in the Emerson Cultural Center will feature the work of Peggy Kohler and Matt Piedalue during the month of July.  The show will include a Featured Artist Reception where you can meet the artists and share a glass of wine.
 
MACK's art reflects her Alaskan upbringing, love of the West, Mountains and Water. All of her art is bright and whimsical, seeking the positive and often a good laugh.  Most of her work focuses on characters who are multi-ethnic to represent the world family we all belong to and are loosely based on Yup'ic Eskimo masks from her childhood, as well as ethnic influences from around the world and the American West/Northwest. MACK is always looking to pay tribute to the under-represented, putting their attributes on full and joyful display!
 
Matt Piedalue is a potter who makes art because he doesn’t know how not to. He enjoys offering his own handmade, meaningful alternative to mass-produced foreign ceramics.  Piedalue’s aesthetic has been heavily influenced by historical pottery, nature, science fiction and comic books. He uses sculptural methods to twist many of his pots into fantastically organic, plant or creature-like objects. Piedalue feels a child-like fascination in the ability to manipulate clay and create physical things that he has never seen before.
 
Come see the artwork and meet its makers at the Featured Artist Reception in The Artists’ Gallery, Friday, July 10th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The 2015 Sweet Pea Festival is excited to announce this year’s t-shirt and poster contest winners. We would like to thank everyone that participated in the contest and encourage participation next year.

This year’s adult T-shirt contest winner is Brittany Wade a Bozeman high school Junior. Wade recently began experimenting with graphic design and now is seriously considering Graphic Design as a college degree and possibly a career.
Elsa Austin, a second grader at Morning Star Elementary won this year’s Children’s T-shirt contest.  A photograph she saw of sweet pea flowers weaving through a fence inspired Elsa’s winning entry. She also enjoys leather working, painting and drawing. Elsa is looking forward to being involved with this year’s Children’s Sweet Pea Run and Parade.



The 2015 Sweet Pea poster contest winner is Anica Lees. Graduating from MSU in 2008, Anica always carried an enigmatic artistic energy. She perused a degree in Art Education and Metalsmithing and has done work including jewelry retail at Alara, art gallery assistance at Planet Bronze, and cake decorator at Elle’s Belles Bakery. Most recently, Anica has attained a decade-long dream of owning a private art studio, under the name Montana Meddle Studio.

Look out for these amazing designs on this year’s Sweet Pea Festival merchandise. Merchandise can be pre-purchased at various outlets start July 5th as well as at this year’s festival.

ABOUT SWEET PEA FESTIVAL:
The Sweet Pea Festival is a three-day festival of the arts held in Bozeman, Montana, since 1978. This year’s Festival dates are August 7, 8, and 9. The event includes everything from dynamic music to children’s activities and a beer and wine garden featuring Montana microbrews. Sweet Pea is committed to its mission of “promoting and cultivating the arts.”

United in Light is a place where all draft horse breeds are rescued from slaughter and are brought to United in Light, Inc. to retire and live out the rest of their lives. Our Annual Fundraiser The Mane Event, is around the corner!

This year it will be Saturday, August 29th @ PARK COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS!
Last year we sold out on tickets & had to find a larger venue in case we have rain :).
We are in great need of Sponsors for the event and
Fine Arts & Items for our Live & Silent Auction!!
Can you help?

We will be in Bozeman running down main street this Friday!

Contact us via email at  unitedinlight@mac.com
For Tickets & more information on the Event: www.gotdraft.net

Thirty books have been selected as finalists in ten categories for the ninth annual High Plains Book Awards. Twenty-four different publishers from Canada and the US were represented in this year’s competition. Of the 34 finalists, 13 are from Montana, (a record number!) and six are from Canada.
 
Three authors are finalists in two categories: Bryce Andrews, Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West, finalist in First Book and Nonfiction; Carrie LaSeur, finalist in Woman Writer and Fiction; and Canadian Dave Margoshes is a finalist as editor for Wilf Perreault: In the Alley/Dans la Ruelle, and as a writer for his short story collection, God Telling a Joke and Other Stories.
 
One of the finalists is a past High Plains Book Award winner, Shann Ray’s book American Masculine won two awards in 2012 for Short Stories and First Book. This year his poetry collection Balefire is a finalist.
 
The 2015 finalists include:
 
Fiction – Craig Johnson, Any Other Name; Carrie La Seur, The Home Place; Laura Pritchett, Stars Go Blue
 
Nonfiction – Jerome A. Greene - American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890; Bryce Andrews - Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West; H. Alan Day and Lynn Wiese Sneyd - The Horse Lover: A Cowboy's Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs; Ken Egan Jr. - Montana 1864: Indians, Emigrants, and Gold in the Territorial Year
 
Poetry – Shann Ray- Balefire; Erin Belieu - Slant Six; Ted Kooser - Splitting an Order
 
First Book – Bryce Andrews - Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West; Mary Beth Baptiste - Altitude Adjustment: A Quest for Love, Home, and Meaning in the Tetons; Kristen Inbody and Erin Madison - Montana State Parks: Complete Guide and Travel Companion
 
Woman Writer – Carrie La Seur - The Home Place, Julene Bair - The Ogallala Road: A Memoir of Love and Reckoning; Vicki Tapia - Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia
 
Art & Photography – Larry Len Peterson - Charles M. Russell: Photographing the Legend; Steven Gnam - Crown of the Continent: The Wildest Rockies; Wilf Perreault (artist), Dave Margoshes (editor) and Timothy Long (contributor), Wilf Perreault: In the Alley/Dans La Ruelle; Jennifer Bottomly O'Looney and Kirby Lambert - Montana's Charlie Russell: Art in the Collection of the Montana Historical Society
 
Short Stories – Dave Margoshes - God Telling a Joke and Other Stories; Rolli – I am Currently Working on a Novel; Jamie Lisa Forbes - The Widow Smalls and Other Stories
 
Young Adult Book –  Brenda Baker - Camp Outlook; Lynn Boughey & Peter Earnest - Harry Potter and the Art of Spying; Regine Haensel - Queen of Fire
 
 
Children’s Book – the late Cheryl Chad- Back to Batoche; Jean Freeman - Do Trees Sneeze?; Sandra Dallas - Red  Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky
 
Culinary – Carole Sullivan - Gatherings: Friends and Recipes from Montana's Mustang Kitchen; Amy Jo Ehman - Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens; Seabring Davis - A Taste of Montana
 
Over 200 books were nominated for the 2015 High Plains Book Awards. All the nominated books were read and evaluated by community volunteers in the first round of the selection process. The finalist books in each category will be judged by writers who have significant connections to the High Plains region, many who have won in the particular category he or she will judge.
 
The Billings Public Library Board established the High Plains Book Awards in 2006 to recognize regional authors and/or literary works that examine and reflect life on the High Plains including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
 
Winners in each category will receive a $500 cash prize at the Awards Banquet on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana. Single tickets and tables may be purchased for the banquet. The Awards Banquet is a signature event of the Billings Public Library. More information can be found at highplainsbookawards.org.
 
The High Plains Book Awards Banquet is held in conjunction with the 2015 High Plains BookFest. Writer’s Voice director Corby Skinner is coordinating the readings and events for the High Plains BookFest. He can be contacted at corby@skinnerbenoit.com.
 

The Pollination Project, a nonprofit organization that gives $1000 a day, every day, to individual change-makers and activists, awarded a grant to local resident Bonnie Goodman, founder of Live and Let Livingston, for her “hard core activism with a gentle touch”.
 
Goodman promotes compassion in Montana by sharing delicious vegan food and recipes with locals and tourists at events that are free and open to the public.  Her monthly potluck has been featured in American Vegan Magazine and Victoria Moran’s Main Street Vegan Academy blog, to inspire others to create events in their own communities.   Live and Let Livingston teaches plant-based cooking classes, shares educational materials and a huge lending library of cookbooks and DVDs, gives away free food samples and recipes at health fairs, and participates every year in The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.
 
Bonnie explains, “It’s my goal to be there for the ‘veg-curious’, and to help local vegans find a sense of community.  It’s a way to live with kindness everyday. Those who want to make compassion the foundation of their lifestyle will want to consider veganism, because it’s a win-win-win: for people, animals, and the environment! ”
 
The Pollination Project funds projects that benefit people, planet, and animals in areas like environmental sustainability, social justice, community health and wellness, arts and media.   To view a full list of recipients to date please see http://thepollinationproject.org/
 
 Said Goodman, "I’m deeply grateful to The Pollination Project for believing in my work, and also very thankful to my husband, the volunteers, and dear friends who have helped over the years; from feeding spay/neuter clinic attendees, to handing out free kale salad at Farmer’s Market, and even dressing up like veggies for the Rodeo Parade!”
 
For more information visit Live and Let Livingston, on Facebook or Vegans Rock Montana on MeetUp.
 
About The Pollination Project
The Pollination Project awards $1000 in seed money to individual changemakers and activists who are working to make the world – or just their own community – a better, more peaceful, just and more sustainable place. The Pollination Project is a platform for investing directly in committed people who just need a little money to launch their social change vision. For more information or to apply please see www.thepollinationproject.org.

The mood was festive in the lobby of the Ellen Theater in downtown Bozeman on June 5 as fans and friends gathered to celebrate the life of the late Ben Bullington, a doctor, singer-songwriter and performer who touched the lives of many in Montana and beyond.

“Ben is here,” said Joanne Gardner, as she moved among the crowd greeting guests and sharing stories of the tall doctor with the engaging smile who wrote songs that touch the heart. “I’m wearing his ring--Tom [Murphy] is wearing his shoes.” Gardner counted Bullington among her dear friends, performing with him and helping to spread his music to a wider audience, and staying by his side as he dealt with the pancreatic cancer that would take his life in 2013. Gardner was the moving force behind Friday evening’s concert, bringing a talented group of performers (who also happened to be Ben’s friends) together for what would prove to be a wonderful evening of music and memories.

Bill Payne and Darrell Scott

Those performers included Darrell Scott, whose latest release, “10-the Songs of Ben Bullington,” is rising fast on the charts--the Ellen concert was a CD release event of sorts (the first and only other “10“ release show took place in Nashville to rave reviews in mid-May). Scott and Bullington met in Montana, and the fact that Scott (an NSAI Songwriter of the Year, Americana 2007 Song of the Year winner, ASCAP Songwriter of the Year, and multiple Grammy nominee) made this recording speaks to the connection he and Bullington made in a very short time. 
Bill Payne (Little Feat), who collaborated with Bullington musically before his death, was also there at the Ellen Theater on the keyboards, as was John Lowell on guitar, Kris Clone (piano, vocals), Tom Murphy (mandolin, vocals), Buff Brown (harmonica), Russell Smith (standup bass), and Gardner herself on vocals.

Inside the theater, the mood was more hushed than in the lobby, almost reverent. The packed house in the Ellen was still as Darrell Scott stepped up to the microphone and started the evening off with these simple words: “Welcome to our Lovefest.”

It was indeed a lovefest, as these friends of Ben Bullington brought their love for the man forth with their renditions of his music in the first set. Kris Clone sat at the piano and gave a solo tribute to his friend. Bill Payne played “The Last Adios,” the tune from the movie “Crazy Heart” that he and Bullington collaborated on. And the stories were there, too, along with the music.

“Ben loved life, family, his friends...but he hated flies,” said John Lowell, as he began a soulful rendition of Bullington’s song “I Despise Flies.” Russell Smith related the time when he was considering getting a “green card” so he could smoke medical marijuana, and discussed the matter with Ben.

“Why would you want the government to know you are smoking marijuana?” was Bullington’s reply. Gardner recalled how Ben got her singing again, and reminded the crowd that “We’re also here to thank Darrell Scott.” The first set closed with all of the performers onstage to play Ben’s tribute to the small town he once practiced medicine in, a little tune with a lot of feeling called “White Sulphur Springs.”

After a break, Darrell Scott took the stage to play the songs he had decided should be on that tribute recording to Ben Bullington. The multi-talented performer did so with a wonderful singing voice, as well as guitar, lap steel, and piano.

“Ben recorded 67 songs,” said Scott. “Picking ten was tough.” The choices Scott made are a good fit. Scott began with “Lone Pine” and “Sage After Rain,” two songs with a lot of Montana in them--and more.

“There’s a lot of depth in these songs,” Scott said. “I don’t think Ben was afraid of death.” Ben wasn’t afraid of the music “establishment,” either, as was demonstrated by his song “Country Music, I’m Talking to You,” his jab at corporate Nashville, especially the industry’s treatment of the Dixie Chicks in the wake of their non-support for the Iraq War.

“In the last months of Ben’s life I started sending iPhone recordings of me singing a song of his,” Scott told the audience near the end of the show. “The first iPhone recording, ‘I’ve Gotta Leave You Now,’ ends this album. That recording is what Ben heard, and he loved it--I think it’s important that the iPhone version be on the album, just as Ben heard it.” And when Scott played the song, in which Bullington essentially bids his sons farewell, there were not many dry eyes in the house.

The show ended with all performers onstage for “In the Light of Day,” which the audience participated in. It was an appropriate end to a fine show honoring a man who loved his life, his friends, and his music.

“10-the Songs of Ben Bullington” is on sale at Cactus Records and Gifts in Bozeman, and even at Target Stores nationwide. Pick up a copy and you’ll know why this recording is so special to so many folks.

Livingston Depot Foundation announces “Call for Pies” in advance of 28th annual Depot Festival of the Arts to be held July 2, 3, & 4
 
The tradition goes forward on the winds like the aroma of a pie in the oven.
 
The Livingston Depot Foundation has announced its “Call for Pies” for the pie booth that hallmarks its longstanding Depot Festival of the Arts over the July 4th weekend.  The summer event is set for July 2, 3, & 4 from 10 to 6 at Depot Rotary Park, next to the Livingston Depot Center, the historic train station that operates today as a museum and community cultural center.
 
The pie booth, featuring a creative range of flavors by the bakers, is not only an important fundraiser for the Livingston Depot Foundation, it is also a highly anticipated tradition.  “It’s a great combination – outstanding crafts and fine art, and outstanding pies to enjoy it with,” said Museum Director Diana Seider.  “We appreciate the people who make it happen – but it seems the visitors appreciate it even more!”
 
Anyone wishing to donate a pie to be sold at the booth can reach the Depot office at (406) 222-2300, and pies can be dropped off in advance at the museum reception desk, or at the Depot pie booth any day of the event.

A Montana State University astrophysicist has won a prestigious international award for her pioneering work on neutron stars.


Sachiko Tsuruta will receive the Marcel Grossmann Prize on July 13 during the Marcel Grossman Meeting in Rome.  Grossman was a mathematician who collaborated with Albert Einstein, and his namesake meetings focus on the latest developments in gravitation and general relativity.  The Grossmann award is given every three years.

“We’re all thrilled for her,” said MSU solar physicist David McKenzie. “To be recognized for a fundamental discovery is awesome.”

Yves Idzerda, head of MSU’s Department of Physics, said, “Montana State University once again stands in good company.”

The other individual winners this year are astrophysicists at Princeton University, Trinity College-Cambridge and the University of Tokyo. Previous winners included several Nobel Laureates, as well as famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

“It’s very nice,” Tsuruta said of her prize.

In the 51 years since Tsuruta received her Ph.D. from Columbia University, she has investigated a variety of topics that deal with dense stellar objects, such as neutron stars, black holes, white dwarfs, supermassive black holes and early universe problems such as first stars, gravitational waves and gamma ray bursts.

Her most important contribution to astrophysics is said to be her prediction that neutron stars existed. She made that prediction as a doctoral student and before pulsars were discovered in 1967. Pulsars are highly magnetized rotating neutron stars. Tsuruta also made predictions about the cooling and heating of neutron stars. Her predictions have since been proven true by the Hubble Space Telescope, ground-based telescopes and telescopes in X-ray satellite missions.

Tsuruta’s findings have been published in more than 230 papers and shared in more than 330 lectures at national and international conferences. She has served on organizing committees of several major conferences, including the third and seventh Marcel Grossmann meetings.

During the upcoming Grossman meeting, Tsuruta will give a lecture titled, “How hot neutron stars are.”

Some people might think neutron stars are cold, but they are very hot compared to ordinary stars, she said.

“The problem is essentially calculating the temperature of neutron stars and comparing them with the observed data,” Tsuruta said.

Knowing more about the cooling mechanism of neutron stars allows scientists to answer a variety of questions, such as the composition of their cores, Tsuruta said.

A native of Yokohama, Japan and the granddaughter of a Shinto priest, Tsuruta said she became a scholar because of her father. She became an astrophysicist after moving to the United States.

Her father was interested in history and wanted to become a scholar, but after college he went to work for the makers of Kirin beer and encouraged all six of his daughters to pursue higher education. His only son died as a toddler.

Tsuruta majored in English in Japan, but she switched to astrophysics after transferring to the University of Washington. Explaining, she said she couldn’t compete with English majors in the United States, but mathematics is the language of physics, and any nationality can speak it. She had enjoyed physics and astronomy in high school.

Tsuruta earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Columbia University. She then worked for the Smithsonian and Harvard Observatory, now the Harvard Center for Astrophysics. She also became an outside adviser to NASA. For several years, she commuted between MSU and Germany, working half a year at MSU and half a year at the Max Planck Institute in Munich. She started working full-time at MSU in 1989.

The Yellowstone Park Foundation and Nature’s Best Photography magazine announced today their partnership and global launch of the Yellowstone Forever Photo Contest, created to celebrate the world’s first national park through photography and public participation.  

    Designed as a run-up to the National Park Service’s Centennial Anniversary in 2016, the Yellowstone Forever Photo Contest is one of several Yellowstone Park Foundation activities planned to observe the Centennial.  It is also the first global photo competition to be focused on Yellowstone.

     “As we join in the celebration of the National Park Service’s Centennial Anniversary, our goal is to focus on Yellowstone National Park through the eyes of Park visitors,” said Karen Bates Kress, president of the Yellowstone Park Foundation. “What they have witnessed over the years, and the photographs they have made will surely result in a remarkable body of work.”

    Entries for the contest will be accepted from June 1, 2015 through Sept. 10, 2015 in four categories:  Wildlife, Landscapes, Yellowstone Adventure, and a Mobile category for images created on phones and tablets.  The contest is open to all Professionals, Amateurs, and Youth 18 and Under.

    Winners will be featured in Nature’s Best Photography magazine in spring 2016, displayed in a print exhibition at the Old Faithful Haynes Photo Shop during the summer of 2016, and will appear in online galleries and multimedia presentations.  In addition to this exposure, contest winners will receive cash and prizes.  To enter, photographers can visit www.ypf.org/contest or  www.naturesbestphotography.com/yellowstone.

The Downtown Bozeman Partnership presented three awards at the 10th Annual Downtown Breakfast held Thursday, May 28, 2015 at the Baxter Hotel.  
The awards included the Downtown Cornerstone Award, the Downtown Community Award and the “Life is Downtown” Award.  The nominees and recipient for each award were selected by the Downtown Bozeman Association board, Business Improvement District board and Tax Increment Finance board.

The Downtown Cornerstone Award recognizes a business that serves as an anchor to the downtown community not only economically, but socially, culturally and civically.  The business has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to downtown by sponsoring downtown events, supporting the member organizations of the Downtown Bozeman Partnership, while being an exemplary business leader.

Previous recipients include: Country Bookshelf (2014), Rockin’ R Bar (2013), The Leaf & Bean (2012), Insty-Prints (2011), Heeb’s Grocery (2010), Owenhouse Ace Hardware (2009) and First Security Bank (2008). The 2015 Downtown Cornerstone nominees were the Baxter Hotel, MacKenzie River Pizza, Nova Cafe and Schnee’s Boots and Shoes. The 2015 recipient of the Downtown Cornerstone Award is the Schnee’s Boots and Shoes.  Suzanne Edwards accepted the award on behalf of Schnees.

Babs Noelle, DBA President, presented the award saying, “For decades, Schnee’s has been a huge supporter of the downtown.  Both owners have served on Downtown Partnership boards and they have also been consistently involved in nearly all DBA events and programs. We all owe Schnee’s a debt of gratitude for being an anchor on Main Street—a downtown cornerstone—for over 40 years.”

The Downtown Community Award acknowledges a business or organization that has provided exemplary support of downtown Bozeman.  This entity recognizes that the city of Bozeman and the entire Gallatin Valley benefits from a thriving downtown, and therefore, they have assisted the Downtown Bozeman Partnership in its efforts to promote and enhance the community’s historic core.  
Previous recipients include: First Interstate Bank (2014), Town Square Media (2013), Bozeman Daily Chronicle (2012), Bozeman Food Co-op (2011), City of Bozeman (2010), Montana State University (2009) and Kenyon Noble (2008). The 2015 Downtown Community nominees were Bridger Bowl, First Security Bank, Gallatin Art Crossing and Sweet Pea Festival. The 2015 recipient of the Downtown Community Award is First Security Bank.  Steve Wheeler, Executive Vice President, accepted the award on behalf of First Security Bank.

Eric Sutherland, Downtown Business Improvement District board member, presented the award and said, “First Security Bank was founded downtown in 1919. In 1960 they moved to their current location at the corner of Main and Bozeman. Considering First Security’s 95 year history downtown, it is no surprise that they support nearly every Downtown Partnership initiative. We are thankful for First Security Bank’s loyal support each and every year.”

The “Life is Downtown” Award honors a person who has given a veritable lifetime of service to downtown Bozeman.  The recipient has exceeded the expectations of the community in their generous support downtown.  This person has devoted considerable time and effort to the betterment of the downtown community by volunteering for special events, serving as a downtown board member, and playing a leadership role in downtown initiatives.  

Previous recipients include: Ileana Indreland (2014), Bobby Bear (2013), Larry Bowman (2012), Bert Hopeman (2011), Chris Pope (2010), Steve Schnee (2009) and Bob Paynich (2008). The 2015 “Life is Downtown” nominees were Mike Hope, Babs Noelle and Rob Pertzborn. The 2015 recipient of the “Life is Downtown” Award is Rob Pertzborn.

Chris Naumann, the Downtown Partnership’s Executive Director, presented the award and said, “Rob has lived and worked downtown for 25 years. I can tell you from personal experience, Rob thinks about downtown a lot—as in almost all the time. And he constantly asks the hard questions. As an architect and a volunteer, Rob has played a visionary roll in dozens of downtown projects—both public and private. Rob is a true champion of downtown and embodies the meaning of our motto: ‘Life is Downtown’.”