The Montana Preservation Alliance (MPA) has extended its search for five artists interested in participating in our Summer 2016 Reimagine Montana Artist-in-Residence program. The deadline for postmarked applications is May 3.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded funding to MPA for Reimagine Montana: National Parks, Historic Landmarks, Trails and Monuments Across Time, a project to support artists in creating artwork for a traveling exhibition. The work will celebrate nationally-significant parks and historic places in Montana by reimagining signature places depicted by artists in the past.

Five artists will be selected for four-week residencies at five settings in Montana. Each will be provided with lodgings and a modest stipend for expenses. By inviting artists to visit such locations and to reimagine their meaning, we support the creation of meaningful new artwork and provide a chance for today's people to reflect on these places and their cultural meaning.

Locations include:
Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument
Virginia City National Historic Landmark
Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark
Glacier National Park
Traveler's Rest State Park National Historic Landmark

For more information, see our Frequently Asked Questions flyer or to apply for the program, please click Apply Now below.

Craft brewing is a booming business in the US, and Bozeman & Belgrade, Montana are no exception. Each Bozeman Brewery has it's own special atmosphere, taste and history. We've listed them from oldest to newest.

Bozeman Brewing Company ("The Bozone")

Bozeman Brewing has been creating tasty brews on Broadway Ave in Bozeman, Montana since 2001. This intimate tap room is home to North side locals, weary travelers and beer aficionados looking for great tasting Montana beer. Our favorite Bozone brew is the Hopzone IPA.

Madison River Brewing Co

We can't leave MRB off the list, even though they are located in neighboring Belgrade, Montana. Madison River has been around a long time and continues to brew some of the most delicious Montana craft beer available. Regular tasting room visitors enjoy hand blown glass steins to drink from. Our favorite Mad River brew is Hopper Pale Ale.

406 Brewing

406 built their first large Bozeman tasting room in 2011 off Oak St in Bozeman, Montana. The brewery is moving to Manahattan, Montana in 2020.

Outlaw Brewing

Outlaw Brewing began brewing in 2011 with Bar 3 BBQ in Belgrade, in 2014 they created their own space in Northwest Bozeman, Montana. Old West tradition inspires the brews and ambiance of Sheriff Henry Plummer’s Outlaw Brewing. Our favorite Outlaw brew is Passive Aggressive Pale Ale.

Bridger Brewing Co

Bridger Brewing was founded in March 2013 just across from the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Montana. Serving delicious pizza and amazing beer Bridger Brewing is a huge hit. Bridger Brewing has been voted Bozeman's Choice  in each years Reader Poll. Our favorite Bridger Brewing brew is Antilogy Black IPA.

MAP Brewing Co

MAP Brewing's mission is simple: craft and drink great beer. Since Oct 2015 folks have been drinking MAP beer in their spacious, two-story tasting room adjacent to the East Gallatin Recreation area. The views can't be beat, and the beer ain't bad either. Our favorite MAP brew is Destination Session IPA.

The Bunkhouse Brewery

Open since February 2016, Bunkhouse, near the campus of Montana State University is rooted in Montana traditions and is proud to be a part of the Bozeman community. Our favorite Bunkhouse brew is Remittance Ale.

Mountains Walking Brewery

Since September 2017 Mountains Walking has been pouring a wide variety of craft brews from their tasting room in Northeast Bozeman. They encourage visitors to "Discover the "True Nature of Beer" through the cultivation of the mystery of fermentation." A favorite of ours is the Twisted Karma, Raspberry Sour.

Nordic Brew Works

In the fall of 2018 Bozeman's first Westside Brewery - Nordic Brew Works opened in what is now called The Market. The open, bright setting creates a comfortable in-town getaway. They brew small-batch, one-of-a-kind craft beer, our favorite is whatever seasonal IPA is on tap.

Union Hall Brewery

Union Hall Brewery is Bozeman, Montana's newest brewery. Serving up craft beer and delicious food right on Main street, Union Hall's motto is “In beer we trust." Our favorite UH beer is Plow Chaser IPA.

Cheers!

Montana State University affiliates have garnered 18 regional Emmy nominations from the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The winners of the awards will be announced June 4 in Seattle.

MontanaPBS earned 13 nominations for its programming over the last year, while KXLF earned four and MSU’s University Communications has received one.

The nominations span 11 different categories including documentary, commercial, writing, photography, editing, directing and audio.

“Finding Traction,” the story of Montana ultra-runner Nikki Kimbal, received six nominations, including one in the audio category for Jeremiah Slovarp, an instructor in the MSU School of Music. “Finding Traction” follows Kimball as she attempts a grueling run across the nation’s longest hiking trail.

“Concussion: Answers in the Blood?” a documentary that follows two University of Montana scientists who received funding from the NFL for their research on concussions, received two nominations.

“Backroads of Montana,” a production of MontanaPBS, had a nomination in the arts and entertainment— feature/segment category for a piece on centenarian bugler Ray Zell of Shelby.

“11th and Grant with Eric Funk,” a program curated by MSU School of Music instructor Funk that gives local musicians a chance to showcase their talent to a statewide audience, also received two nominations, including another nomination for Slovarp. The nominated episode featured the School of Music’s Angella Ahn and Julie Gosswiller.

MSU graduates from television station KXLF received four nominations for “On the Mountain,” a documentary that tells the story of the construction of the 90-foot statue known as “Our Lady of the Rockies.”

“MSU Unbranded,” produced by MSU University Communications Marketing and Creative Services department and other MSU staff, faculty and alumni, was nominated in the commercial single spot category

Lastly, “Bard in the Backcountry,” a film that chronicles a summer season of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, received two nominations, recognizing Cindy Stilwell, an MSU film professor who co-directed the film.

For a full list of the nominees and the categories, please see below:

Arts/entertainment - feature/segment
Backroads of Montana, featuring centenarian bugler Ray Zell -- John Twiggs, producer

Arts/entertainment - program/special
11th & Grant with Eric Funk featuring Angella Ahn and Friends -- Scott Sterling, director; Aaron Pruitt, executive producer; Paul Gomez Routhier, producer; Eric Funk, artistic director; Jeremiah Slovarp, audio director

Audio
Finding Traction --  Slovarp, sound re-recording mixer
Bard in the Backcountry -- original music, Ian Hatton, composer
11th & Grant with Eric Funk featuring Angella Ahn and Friends  -- Slovarp, audio director

Commercial single spot
MSU Unbranded -- Dennis Aig, director, producer, writer; Scott Chestnut, director, editor, cinematographer; Julie Kipfer, executive producer, writer;  Phillip Baribeau, cinematographer, talent; Andy Hahn, special effects

Director - post production
Finding Traction -- Jaime Jelenchick Jacobsen
On the Mountain  -- Shawn Newton, Carley Rainey

Documentary – cultural
Bard in the Backcountry -- Cindy Stillwell, director; Tom Watson, director; Aaron Pruitt, executive producer; Chris Seifert, executive producer

Documentary – historical
On the Mountain -- Shawn Newton, producer, director, writer, editor; Carley Rainey, director; Andrew Preston, producer

Documentary – topical
Concussion: Answers in the Blood? -- John Twiggs, producer
Finding Traction -- Jaime Jelenchick Jacobsen, director; Aaron Pruitt, executive producer; Charles Dye, director; Rick Smith, director of photography; Daniel Schmidt - director of photography

Editor – program  
Finding Traction -- Stefanie Watkins
Concussion: Answers in the Blood? -- John Twiggs
On the Mountain -- Shawn Newton

Photographer – program
Finding Traction -- Daniel Schmidt, Rick Smith

Writer – Program
Finding Traction -- Jaime Jelenchick Jacobsen, Stefanie Watkins
On the Mountain -- Shawn Newton

MontanaPBS is comprised of KUSM-TV Bozeman and KUFM-TV Missoula, each a non-commercial educational licensee of Montana State University - Bozeman and The University of Montana - Missoula, respectively.

For more information, please contact Slovarp at (406) 586-5262 or jeremiah@jerecostudios.com.

Every Monday from May through September, we will be showing beloved movies in a super fun atmosphere, upstairs at The Eagles Ballroom in downtown Bozeman. Bring your friends and have a party every Monday night!

Films will be shown on a huge 9'x14' screen graciously borrowed from our friends at Movie Lovers, and professional sound by RippleSound & Recording - the same system used for concerts in the ballroom, so you will have the best concert experience possible!

Tickets for each of these movies are just $3 at the door (21+ only, sorry!), and there will be alcohol served by the Eagles staff, as well as pizza served by Red Tractor Pizza, and fresh popcorn for sale!

Get there early at 8:30 in order to get refreshments ahead of time, and the film will start at 9:00pm.

Our schedule:

May 2: The Big Lebowski
May 9: Superbad
May 16: Dazed and Confused
May 23: Pulp Fiction
May 30: NO FILM (Memorial Day)
June 6: Austin Powers
June 13: Airplane
June 20: Troll 2
June 27: Clerks
July 4: NO FILM (Independence Day)
July 11: Wayne's World
July 18: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
July 25: The Goonies
August 1: Wet Hot American Summer
August 8: National Lampoon's Vacation
August 15: The Warriors
August 22: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
August 29: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
September 5: Mean Girls
September 12: Billy Madison
September 19: Dumb and Dumber
September 26: National Lampoon's Animal House

If you or your business would like to become a sponsor to help keep this film series inexpensive for the public contact Dylan at chickenjamwest@gmail.com

For the first time in its six year run, the Red Ants Pants Music Festival held a block party on Main Street in White Sulphur Springs to announce the 2016 lineup. Hundreds gathered in person while people around the globe viewed a live webcast streaming the news of this year’s lineup which includes Grammy award-winning country legends Wynonna and The Big Noise, global superstars The Mavericks, The Lone Bellow, Hayes Carll, Corb Lund, Montana’s own Mission Mountain Wood Band and a remarkable host of Americana legends and rising stars.

 
“This year’s lineup offers incredible depth and diversity of talent from international stars including Wynonna and the Big Noise and The Mavericks to Montana’s own Mission Mountain Wood Band. Fans are going to hear some of the most unforgettable voices in Americana music today paired with rising stars who might just become their new favorite bands,” said Red Ants Pants Music Festival founder and producer, Sarah Calhoun. “Come connect with good folks and celebrate rural Montana with us this summer.”

 
This is the sixth year of the music festival, which benefits the Red Ants Pants Foundation, a nonprofit organization in support of women's leadership, working farms and ranches, and rural communities. Held in a cow pasture on the Jackson Ranch, and surrounded by the Big Belt, Little Belt, and Castle Mountain ranges, the festival will bring in more than two dozen different artists performing on separate stages. The weekend-long, grassroots, honky-tonkin' music festival brings in millions of dollars to the rural economy. Last year’s festival drew a record 14,000 in attendance.

2016 Red Ants Pants Music Festival Lineup

Full details available at RedAntsPantsMusicFestival-DOT-COM.
 
Wynonna and The Big Noise
The Mavericks * The Lone Bellow
Corb Lund * Hayes Carll
Mission Mountain Wood Band
Ray Wylie Hubbard * Hurray for the Riff Raff
Dar Williams * Shinyribs
The McCrary Sisters * Henry Wagons
Eilen Jewell * Underhill Rose
Laney Jones and the Spirits
Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs * Dead Horses
Balled in Burlap with Square Dance Caller Michelle Carcher
Plus 15 Side Stage Performers!

500 early bird tickets which are now on sale ONLINE ONLY on at the discounted price of $115. We will again be offering 50 VIP weekend passes for $500 each. VIP ticket holders will enjoy an outstanding view of the main stage, shaded seating furnished by The Perch in Bozeman, complimentary refreshments, beer & wine. VIP & early bird tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Full details available at RedAntsPantsMusicFestival-DOT-COM.

Tonight we were also proud to announce our poster competition winner, Jan Elpel out of Bozeman, Montana! Check out her whimsical poster, Crazy Mountain Roundup. She used alcohol ink to get a smooth, colorful finish. Her artwork has focused on drawing and painting portraits in oils for the past 25 years.

Support for the Red Ants Pants Music Festival has a lasting ripple effect, benefiting the Red Ants Pants Foundation, a nonprofit organization in support of women's leadership, working farms and ranches, and rural communities.

Bozeman Celebrates Four Centuries of Shakespeare

April 23, 2016 marks the 400-year anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. In honor of the enduring legacy of his plays and poetry, the city of Bozeman will celebrate with SHAKESPEARE FLASH MOBS. On Saturday 23 April, the words of Shakespeare will erupt all over town: in coffee shops, bookstores, grocery stores, galleries, restaurants, trails, and other locations.

Would you like to be a part of the Shakespeare flash mob? You could recite a soliloquy or a sonnet, sing a Shakespearean song, perform a small scene with your friends, dress up in costumes or stay in your usual clothes…anything Shakespearean, in any public place in or around Bozeman.

The Country Bookshelf will be the Shakespeare Flash-400 headquarters. We’ll be there having refreshments and sharing stories of Shakespearean mobs on this important anniversary.

All ideas welcome! Please contact Gretchen Minton (Gretchen.minton@msu.montana.edu<mailto:Gretchen.minton@msu.montana.edu>) if you are interested.

The city of Bozeman has been ranked number four on a list of the 25 best small college towns in which to live. Bozeman, the home of Montana State University, was the highest-ranked town in Montana on the list.

The rankings were made by Schools.com, an online resource for education information and national education news. Results of the study were also shared by USA Today on the college page of its website.

In its write-up about the rankings, Schools.com recognized that living in a vibrant college town can have a positive impact on a student’s education experience, whether those students are campus-based or taking classes online.

To determine its rankings, researchers looked at 170 cities with populations under 150,000 that are home to at least one four-year college or university, evaluating both economic and quality-of-life factors. Researchers also limited the results to two cities per state, taking only the two highest-ranked to create the final list of 25.

Cities were ranked on:

Percentage of the population ages 18-34
Percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree
Median annual rent as a percentage of median annual earnings
County employment rate
Percentage of commuters whose average travel time is less than 30 minutes
Walkability
The number of restaurants and bars per 10,000 residents

Of the cities on the list, Bozeman was ranked second for educational attainment, with more than 30 percent of residents having bachelor’s degrees. It also ranked second for restaurants, with more than 14 per 10,000 people.

MSU’s enrollment of more than 15,000 students was mentioned as a demographic perk for its large student population relative to the city population.

Calling Bozeman “a great choice for students who love outdoor recreation,” the study mentions the easy accessibility to ski areas, the miles of hiking and biking trails and the close proximity of Yellowstone National Park as lifestyle perks for students. It also lauds Bozeman’s big-city amenities packaged with small-town charm, and notes that Bozeman has four museums, numerous art galleries, a symphony, a ballet, an opera company and several community theaters.

Helena, home of Carroll College and Helena College, earned the ninth spot on the list.

Other cities on the list include Boulder, Colorado; Burlington, Vermont; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Fargo, North Dakota.

In November, Bozeman was ranked as the fourth best college town by SmartAsset, a financial technology company that aims to provide research to help individuals make big financial decisions.

For more information about the Schools.com rankings, go to http://www.schools.com/articles/25-best-small-college-towns. For more information about Bozeman, go to http://www.montana.edu/about/bozeman/.

The Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture is now accepting proposals for group and solo art exhibits. We have three exhibition venues including the Jessie Wilber, Lobby and Weaver Room Galleries. We are looking for both established and emerging artists of our region in a variety of medias. The Emerson is a non-profit arts and cultural center that showcases traditional and innovative contemporary art forms. We are looking for works to expand the public's appreciation of art and reflect the diversity of community interests. To apply download the exhibit proposal form from our website or email education@theEmerson.org with questions.

ExporTech, a nationally-recognized program that helps small and mid-sized manufacturers take advantage of growth opportunities in global markets, is coming to Montana in April.

Montana companies interested in doing business overseas are encouraged to register for the remaining spots available in this program that gives hands-on training in developing export plans.

ExporTech is the only national program that helps companies develop an export plan. The nine-week program consists of three sessions for no more than eight companies each session. Companies receive group workshops in addition to individual coaching with the aim of developing an export plan ready for implementation by the end of the course.

ExporTech will also help manufacturers magnify the benefits of other export programs they may be involved in and help them get the most out of tradeshows, visits to other countries and trade missions..

On average, participating companies have generated $770,000 in new export sales in the first year, according to data collected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

This program, which begins Wednesday, April 13, is offered by Montana State University’s Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC), part of the national Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The program is offered in partnership with the U.S. Commercial Service, FedEx, the Small Business Administration, the Montana Department of Commerce and the Montana Chamber of Commerce.

Registration for ExporTech is now open, but space is limited.

Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell will host the three full-day workshop sessions, which will take place on April 13, May 12 and June 14. Registration for the program is $2,500 per company, which allows a company to send three executives to each workshop. Between workshops, companies are paired with an individual coach to help them develop an export plan.

For more information, interested company representatives may contact Jenni West, associate director of MSU’s Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, at (406) 994-3876 or jennifer.west8@montana.edu. To learn more about ExporTech, visit: www.nist.gov/exportech.