The Downtown Bozeman Partnership presented three awards at the 9th Annual Downtown Breakfast held Thursday, June 12, 2014 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: 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 2014 Downtown Cornerstone nominees were the Country Bookshelf, MacKenzie River Pizza, Nova Cafe and Schnee’s Boots and Shoes. The 2014 recipient of the Downtown Cornerstone Award is the Country Bookshelf.  Ariana Paliobagis accepted the award as the owner of the Country Bookshelf.

Babs Noelle, DBA President, presented the award saying, “The Country Bookshelf has been located in its current location since 1986. The Country Bookshelf epitomizes the very essence of Downtown Bozeman: independent, local, unique, resilient and loved by so many. We all owe the Country Bookshelf a debt of gratitude for being an anchor on Main Street—a downtown cornerstone—for nearly 30 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: 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 2014 Downtown Community nominees were Bridger Bowl, First Interstate Bank, Gallatin Art Crossing and Sweet Pea Festival. The 2014 recipient of the Downtown Community Award is First Interstate Bank.  Scott Levandowski, Bozeman Market President, accepted the award on behalf of First Interstate Bank.

Chris Naumann, the Downtown Partnership’s Executive Director, presented the award and said, “In 2004, First Interstate Bank made a large investment in downtown by opening their branch at the corner of Grand and Main Street. First Interstate Bank has over 70 employees in the Gallatin Valley and 27 of those employees work at their downtown branch. We are thankful for First Interstate Bank’s 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: Bobby Bear (2013), Larry Bowman (2012), Bert Hopeman (2011), Chris Pope (2010), Steve Schnee (2009) and Bob Paynich (2008). The 2013 “Life is Downtown” nominees were Mike Hope, Ileana Indreland, Babs Noelle and Rob Pertzborn. The 2014 recipient of the “Life is Downtown” Award is Ileana Indreland.

    Chris Naumann, the Downtown Partnership’s Executive Director, presented the award and said, “Ileana’s commitment to downtown spans 25 years. She has served on the Business Improvement District Board since its inception in 2000. Perhaps more importantly Ileana has been developing property along Main Street since 1988. As a board member, developer and property owner, Ileana has epitomized that Life is Downtown.”

A first for Yellowstone National Park (YNP), and a rare designation for an historic building, the Yellowstone Park Foundation (YPF) announces that the 87-year-old Old Faithful Haynes Photo Shop (OFHPS) earned LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.  

“Yellowstone National Park is often at the forefront of the sustainable movement – from recycling gas cylinders to the use of soy biodiesel in the Park’s vehicles - and this project is an extension of that commitment,” said Dan Wenk, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.  

The OFHPS project received 75 out of 76 attempted points in seven LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification areas:  sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design, and regional priority credits.  Some of the innovative elements included in the restoration are:

• Reuse of the original building structure, windows and exterior materials.
• Salvaged and recycled materials sourced from regional manufacturers, including Douglas fir wood interior finishes, ceramic tile, and recycled glass counters throughout the building, as well as recycled glass permeable paving outside.
• Many materials sourced from regional manufacturers.
• Energy-efficient lights activated by occupancy sensors throughout the building.
• Light pollution reduced in compliance with LEED, and Yellowstone National Park’s Outdoor Lighting Standards.
 
“This project presented special challenges because we not only had to modernize the building, but maintain its historic integrity,” said Lesley Gilmore, Director of Historic Preservation Services for CTA Architects Engineers.
 
​CTA’s Historic Preservation Services provided full architectural and engineering services for the restoration of this log-out wood frame construction.
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Old Faithful Haynes Photo Shop Receives LEED Gold Certification
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Located in the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone, the structure once housed one of F. Jay Haynes photo shops, and was built in 1927.  Haynes was the first photo concessionaire in YNP.
 
“Today it is a showcase for creative exhibits, videos, vintage photographs, displays that highlight exciting projects supported by YPF, and original Haynes memorabilia that date from around 1900,” said Karen Bates Kress, President of the Yellowstone Park Foundation.
 
Construction began in September 2012, and was completed for the grand opening on June 21, 2013.  It was restored by the Yellowstone Park Foundation and Yellowstone National Park.  The original building is 1,550 square feet with a 650 square foot addition.  The project cost $2,100,000.
 
About the Yellowstone Park Foundation:
The Yellowstone Park Foundation has more than 18,000 individuals, corporations and foundations that donate to YPF each year, and has served as Yellowstone National Park’s official fundraising partner since 1996.  Its mission is to fund projects and programs that protect, preserve, and enhance the natural and cultural resources, and the visitor experience of the Park. YPF has raised more than $80 million, and funded more than 250 important projects and initiatives since its inception including wildlife research, cutthroat trout restoration, trail restoration, and youth education. For more information, please go to www.ypf.org.
About Yellowstone National Park:  Yellowstone National Park (www.nps.gov/yell) is home to the majority of the world’s geysers, the main reason it was established as the world’s first national park in1872.   This wild, mountainous, 2.2 million-acre expanse is home to grizzly bears, wolves, bison, elk, numerous rivers, lakes and waterfalls, and the magnificent Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

About CTA Architects Engineers:
CTA Architects Engineers has been in business since 1938. Originally an innovative combination of an architect and an engineer, the company has continued to expand this multi-disciplinary approach to now include 24 building-related disciplines under one roof. Now numbering 380+ employees, CTA has 17 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, including, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.  For more information, visit www.ctagroup.com.

Visions West Gallery presents We Are All Connected an exhibition of new work by Rocky Hawkins. The exhibition will be displayed at Visions West Gallery in Bozeman from June 13th to July 9th, 2014. There will be a reception on the evening of the Art Walk on June 13th at 6:00 P.M. and Rocky Hawkins will be in attendance.

Inspired by a life-long fascination with both our own planet and the universe, Hawkins explores the wonders of the world through bold abstract expressionist pieces with the idea that we are all connected; our lives are defined by our relationship to each other and our environment. Hawkins says, “I have painted this series, which connects the many different elements and aspects of life to bring awareness to the subject: We Are All Connected! We are made of stardust from billions and billions of stars in the ocean of space and time. We need to see ourselves as one and unite to help solve the critical problems that our Earth is facing at this time. The complexity of the universe is beyond our grasp of understanding, but in time with the desire to educate ourselves and each other we can restore our planet Earth to its wondrous origins. The tiny pale blue dot, our planet Earth, is located in the vast cosmos of space. Its survival rests in our hands!”

A Montana based artist with a strong connection to the vast landscape of the West, Hawkins wants to speak about our environment and how it is particularly relevant and increasingly in peril. His unique vocabulary combines many shapes and forms that he hopes will bring beauty into viewers lives, but also make them think about our precious planet.

Embracing the mystery inherent in life, Hawkins pushes any boundary he encounters through his art. His vibrant palette is matched by expressive brushwork and his subject matter evolves from one painting to the next. The universe is his Oyster.

For more information visit www.visionswestgallery.com or call 406.522.9946. Visions West Gallery is located at 34 West Main Street in Bozeman, MT and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 5:30 PM.

Bozemanites are known for getting outside and exploring, leaving no stone unturned in our search for adventure. But in this quest for a great hike, run, or ride, we often turn our gaze to the mountains and rivers far from town, overlooking
 the ground beneath our feet.

Did you know there are nine full 
miles of trails on Bozeman’s south
side, between Kagy and
 Goldenstein? Venture even further,
and connect 50 miles of trails
between Main Street and the 
national-forest boundary south of
town. These trails pass through open fields, aspen and cottonwood groves, gurgling streams, and serene ponds. Wildlife abounds. So why not give the gas-guzzling vehicle a break and have an outdoor adventure right in Bozeman’s back yard?

With this in mind, Outside Bozeman and Sola Café introduce Southside Saturdays, a springtime trail celebration to benefit the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT), the local organization that develops these trails and the rest of Bozeman’s Main Street to the Mountains trail system.

To participate, take your enthusiastic, hungry selves to Sola Café any Saturday from May 10 through June 28 and fuel up for your trail adventure. With each locally sourced, delicious Sola meal purchased on a Southside Saturday, Sola will donate $1 to GVLT. All qualifying purchases are entered in a raffle to win a $100 Sola gift card.
After eating your fill, hit one of the southside trails. Snap a picture with your copy of Outside Bozeman, send it over, and O/B will donate $1 for each picture received. Make the picture good (read: creative and/or goofy)—best photo wins a prize from our legendary Treasure Chest.

“Every dollar raised through this event goes right into GVLT’s community trails program,” says GVLT’s executive director, Penelope Pierce, “helping us expand trails and maintain our existing network, letting everyone enjoy the best of Bozeman.”
The event officially kicks off at Sola Café on May 10 at 10am, with complimentary beverages and snacks, trail maps, and prizes until 2pm. Kids can pet the goats from Amaltheia Dairy while adults enjoy frosty après-trail beverages from Red Lodge Ales.

Southside Saturdays continue every week until the end of June. So get outside and hike, run, or ride the south side!

The Montana Agricultural Experiment Station research centers are inviting the public to field days in June, July and September to learn more about current research projects influencing Montana’s agricultural production.  

Bozeman’s Coop art gallery – the Artists’ Gallery in the Emerson Cultural Center is featuring the art of Jess Tode and Liz Chappie-Zoller during the month of June.
 
Tode is a wood craftsman creating bowls, vessels, utensils and other items of beauty and usefulness.  He has found that the Bozeman urban forest has quite a variety of tree species and uses these in most of his work.  He is part of the Northern Rockies Woodworking Guild where he has been able to continue honing his craft and learning from professionals from around the world.
 
 
One of the newer gallery artists is Liz Chappie Zoller. Her tightly focused Montana Life Paintings are inspired by the western lifestyle and dramatic light of the Big Sky Country she calls home. Working from her studio in Three Forks, MT, Chappie Zoller creates up close and personal oil paintings of the cowboys, landscapes and wildlife she loves.
 
You will be able to view the art of these two artists during the month of June and meet them at the Artwalk to be held Friday, June 13th.

Big Sky Resort was awarded the 2014 Best Resort Terrain by the visitors to OnTheSnow.com in the Visitor’s Choice Awards (VCA).

The Visitor Choice Awards are the most comprehensive reader-generated ski resort awards in the world. Accolades are presented for both overall and regional winners in four categories: Best Overall Resort, Best Resort Terrain, Best Family Resort and Best Park & Pipe.

Great terrain, consistent snow and non-existent lift lines are a few of the attributes which continually give Big Sky Resort top rankings.

Big Sky Resort has also been awarded the Smart Choice award from FindTheBest.com, scoring 97 out of 100 in the smart rating score, which only two percent of the 2,268 ski resorts qualified for this year. The score is based on Publisher Ranks and Ratings, Mountain Size, Terrain and Snowfall.

“We are all very excited that so many of our guests love Big Sky and are willing to tell the world about it,” says Brandon Bang, Big Sky Resort Director of Sales & Marketing. “It is a great tribute that the experience at Big Sky Resort is the best.”

Winning the 2014 Best Resort Terrain and the Smart Choice award are great exposure for the future of the Resort and the Big Sky community. Truly the Biggest Skiing in America®, with terrain spanning 5,750 acres, vertical drop of 4,350 feet, and 295 marked ski runs intertwines all levels of skiing and snowboard, providing something for everyone.

Onthesnow.com is the internet snow reporting website for the Mountain News Corporation. For over 40 years, Mountain News has been producing radio snow reports and is the number one website for snow reporting on the internet. Big Sky Resort also won Best Overall Resort in VCAs. the 2013 Best Overall Resort and 2009 FindTheBest.com, founded in 2009, is a research site dedicated to helping their 25 million monthly visitors reach the best conclusions in hundreds of topics with experts supplying subject-matter for a better way to research.

A new app is now available for identifying more than 100 grasses and grass-like plants in Montana and nearby states and provinces.

Designed for beginners and experts alike, the app will work on iOS and Android devices. An Internet connection is not required. The app provides images, species descriptions, range maps and other information. It was produced by Montana State University’s College of Agriculture and High Country Apps in Bozeman, with plant expertise provided by MSU faculty and staff in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology.

“Grasses are economically and ecologically vital to our state, and are iconic of Montana’s open landscapes,” said Matt Lavin, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology. “’Montana Grasses’ brings a wealth of information to your mobile device in an easy to use format helpful to landowners, researchers, and the general public.”

Users can browse the species list or search for specific plants by common or scientific name. The app provides 13 sets of characteristics to help define a search, including overall appearance, seed head, blade width, habitat, elevation and origin (native or introduced). 

“Montana Grasses” allows users to select a custom list of species for future reference and sharing via email and social networks. Detailed information on grass identification basics, sources and resources, as well as a glossary of botanical terms and diagrams of grass anatomy are also provided.

“Montana Grasses” is available at Amazon, Apple, and Google app stores for $4.99. The app will be updated on a regular basis at no additional charge. High Country Apps will dedicate a portion of the revenues to support plant conservation in Montana.

For more information, go to High Country Apps at www.highcountryapps.com.

Montana’s landscape is peppered by history. Old barns scatter the plains and help us remember the first farmers and ranchers that supported themselves on the agriculture business that keeps the state thriving today.

The Gallatin Historical Society & Pioneer Museum will be hosting its 2nd annual Barn Tour on May 10th to allow the general public take a peek behind those respected wooden doors and into the past.

“Barns are tied to Montana’s history. One of the most important industries both in establishing Montana and keeping Montana’s economy going is agriculture. The barns tell the story of agriculture in Montana,” said Christine Brow, one of the authors of the book that inspired the first barn tour, “Hand Raised Barns of Montana.”

The fundraiser includes a lecture and guide from Marie O’neill, a professor at Montana State University in architecture, lunch at one of the barns, a bus ride and four historically preserved barns.

Not all barns in Montana were constructed exactly the same way, and O’neill will guide the tour by connecting the architecture of the barn to where the settlers who built the barn were originally from.

“Marie O’neill is amazing. She not only knows about the architecture of the barns but the history of the people…We thought we knew a lot about our land we live on and the barn that’s on it, but she is so knowledgeable. She told us things we couldn’t of taken a guess at,” said Jane Quinn who is part of the board of development committee for the Pioneer Museum.

Quinn helped organize last years’ Barn tour, which turned out to be a huge success with 60 people of all age groups participating. She is also a large part in the organization of this year’s event.

“We had no idea how successful it would be…but it turned out to be a big success,” said Quinn. “We are hoping to have more people participating this year.”

School buses will transport participants from barn to barn in order to cut down the impact on the farms from too many vehicles. This also allows participants to not only share the experience of what went on inside the barns, but also the view of the landscape that shaped the livelihood of Montana’s farmers.

“We had a lot of fun on the bus, too,” stated Quinn. “It’s part of the experience.”

But wait! Before you hop the bus to tour the barns, a new edition to the event has been organized. A Barn dance the night before the Barn tour will kick off the event this year. It will host three different sessions and be held at the “Big yellow barn” on Springhill Road. The three sessions include a family dance session from 6:30 to 7 p.m., an introduction to dancing from 7 to 7:30, and then the evening dance session that starts at 7:30 to finish the night off.

“There will be a high school band for the family part and then the Unusual Suspects playing Bluegrass, Old time, and Americana for the evening session. It should be a lot of fun”, said Quinn.

The cost for the family session is $15 per family, while the introductory and evening session costs $10 for adults and $5 for students.

The Barn tour costs $45 per person and while the Barn dance is open to everyone, the Barn tour is reservation only. Everyone will meet at the Pioneer Museum to catch the bus. The event will be over at 4 p.m. All age groups are welcome.

For tickets, call the Pioneer Museum at 406-548-8122 or stop by the museum at 317 West Main Street.