4 events coming to Great Falls, including Big River Ruckus

Traci Rosenbaum, Great Falls Tribune
·4 min read
Country singer Suzy Bogguss is one of the artists lined up for the Big River Ruckus in Great Falls this August.
Country singer Suzy Bogguss is one of the artists lined up for the Big River Ruckus in Great Falls this August.
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As spring approaches, so do the events going on around Great Falls. Here are the details on four of them: the Big River Ruckus, The History Museum Legacy Awards and Brunch, the Great Falls Ice Foundation’s Community Day and a presentation on Sacagawea at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.

Big River Ruckus

Tickets are on sale now for the Big River Ruckus, a three-day concert series with accompanying events taking place in Elk’s Riverside Park, Gibson Park and downtown Great Falls on Aug. 11, 12 and 13.

A special opening event at 7 p.m. on Aug. 11 kicks off the weekend. Author Craig Johnson, who wrote the “Longmire” series that was adapted for television, will give a talk at the Gibson Park Bandshell

On Friday, Aug. 12, the music lineup includes Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, Paul Thorn, and The Melissa Lynn Band.

Local talent The Melissa Lynn Band will open the show at 5 p.m., followed by Paul Thorn, who plays a mix of blues, country, and rock. Headliner Tommy Castro has received awards for Blues Entertainer of the Year and Blues Album of the Year.

Suzy Bogguss and Chuck Mead will appear on the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 13, with opener John Roberts y Pan Blanco.

John Roberts y Pan Blanco is an ensemble of musicians that plays music with funk, soul, salsa, and West African inspirations.

More: 'Laughter is medicine': Sisters United to bring comedian Auntie Beachress to Great Falls on May 21

Bogguss is an American country music singer and songwriter with six Top 10 hits and one platinum and three gold albums. Mead is a founding member of the country music band BR5-49, which won a CMA award and had three Grammy nominations.

Co-headliners for the evening of Saturday, August 13 are Shinyribs and Jason Boland and the Stragglers.

Shinyribs is a nine-piece band described as a mixture of Texas blues, New Orleans R&B funk, horn-driven Memphis soul, country twang, border music, big band swing and roots rock. Jason Boland and the Stragglers have put out 10 studio albums of “red dirt Texas” country music.

The Big River Ruckus runs side-by-side with children’s events, an arts and crafts show and sale and ArtsFest Montana, an annual event where artists paint murals throughout downtown Great Falls.

Purchase tickets at https://bigriverruckus.ticketbud.com/big-river-ruckus.

Murals on 5th Street South between Central and 1st Avenue South. Artists will again descend on downtown Great Falls in August for ArtsFest Montana.
Murals on 5th Street South between Central and 1st Avenue South. Artists will again descend on downtown Great Falls in August for ArtsFest Montana.

The History Museum Legacy Awards and Brunch

The History Museum is hosting a free public event at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, “to honor businesses, organizations and individuals that have helped shape, promote and preserve the rich history of Cascade County and North Central Montana.”

The afternoon includes a light brunch, a no-host mimosa and bloody mary bar by Enbär and a silent auction and art sale.

The Monarch-Neihart Historical Group is this year’s Non-Profit Legacy Award winner. Educator and active community member Mary Sheehy Moe is the museum’s 2022 Person of the Year. Calumet Montana Refinery will receive the 100 Years in Business Award, and Showdown Ski Area is this year’s Commercial/Local Business Award winner.

The event takes place at The History Museum Ozark Club, 422 2nd St. S. For more information, call 406-452-3462.

The Great Falls Ice Plex in 2021 kicked off a campaign to start its first facility improvements in 10 years.
The Great Falls Ice Plex in 2021 kicked off a campaign to start its first facility improvements in 10 years.

Great Falls Ice Foundation Community Day

The Great Falls Community Ice Foundation is hosting Community Day at the Ice Plex from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 10. The event is an open house with free admission.

The object is to educate the public about the only ice rink in town as it continues its $6 million capital improvement campaign. During the event, participants can also learn about the many programs available and the health benefits of ice sports, including Learn to Skate, youth hockey, women’s hockey, men’s league hockey, figure skating and more.

Donations are encouraged and will go toward Ice Plex improvements.

Learn more at greatfallsiceplex.com or contact Teresa Gunn, at president@gf-ice.org or gfcif@gf-ice.org.

“Our Story of Eagle Woman – Sacagawea”

At 7 p.m. on April 12, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center will present “Our Story of Eagle Woman – Sacagawea” with speaker Dr. Gerard Baker.

The program is part of the Ida Johnson Lecture Series hosted by the Portage Route Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.

Baker is a member of the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation and serves on the Sacagawea Project Board. The board has recently published its book, “Our Story of Eagle Woman – Sacagawea.” Dr. Baker’s program will address the contents of the book and the research and history of Sacagawea as a Hidatsa tribal member, rather than a Shoshoni.

For more information, call 406-799-8183.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Big River Ruckus concert, Sacagawea panel among Great Falls events