Southwest Montana August Festival Roundup

Summer isn't over until the last rodeo cowboys and cowgirls hang their hats! There are still lots of festivals throughout August and into Labor Day weekend, offering summer fun and thrills, tied into history, Montana style. Take your pick from Smelterman's mining, Irish culture, clean energy, fly fishing, country music, and crowd-pleasing full-on county fair and rodeo, and plan how to enjoy your last days of summer.

Anaconda starts off on August 5 to 7 with Smelermans Day Celebrations, a throwback to the town's mining history and those who founded the town; three days packed with fun for all ages, with music, games for kids, and food vendors. Friday there are sidewalk sales and Artwalk. Saturday is packed with the Smelter City Scamper, including 5K, 10K, half marathon, and a kids' fun run, as well as the Brewfest, featuring breweries from across Montana pouring their best beer, food, and music, like a brewery state tour in one location. Both Saturday and Sunday the Smelterman's Day Stack Bus Tours will be offered. The parade heads south on Main St. Sunday, along with ACI's Kid's Fair Family Fun at the Common featuring children's activities and games, food vendors, and live music. Kennedy Common, Main and Third Street, 406-563-2400, discoveranaconda.com/events/smeltermens-week.

The fun moves to Butte from August 12 to 14 for the An Ri Ra Montana Irish Festival, a celebration of Irish heritage and its' contribution to the people of Montana. Translated to "fun and madness." it's known for being one of the best Irish festivals in North America and it's hard to resist the combination of a beautiful outdoor setting, authentic Irish music and dance, delicious food, Irish drink, and plenty of green to make the scene glow. The free admission festival is held at a unique venue, The Original Mineyard, converted to a public park with the headframe and other mine buildings still on site. Enjoy Irish-related workshops, author series, and food and craft vendors. Enjoy music on multiple stages, international, national, regional, and local, featuring world-class performers from across the United States and Ireland performing traditional and contemporary Irish music along with Irish dance groups. 433 North Main Street, 406-723-3177, mtgaelic.org/anrira.

Butte also hosts the 11th annual Montana Clean Energy Fair on August 13, a family-friendly fair with workshops on clean energy, exhibitor booths, an electric car/bike show, kids' activities, and more. It's free, open to the public, with no tickets or registration needed. If you're interested in the latest on renewable energy education, this fair is for you. On offer are 45-minute workshops on renewable energy policy, solar electricity and solar heating, batteries and energy storage, financing and incentives, large-scale solar and wind, and off-grid living, all adapted for a wide range of knowledge. Local, Montana-based renewable energy businesses will showcase their offerings and answer questions. There'll be solar home and Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training agricultural program open houses, electric car and bike show with cutting-edge vehicles and, for kids, model solar car races, solar oven construction, bouncy castle, color, recycled art projects, and face painting. A raffle will be held for great prizes, including an e-bike valued at more than $2,000 with tickets $1. 3040 Continental Dr., 406-214- 9405, montanarenewables.org/clean-energy-fair-2022.

The Tri-County Fair is in Deerlodge from August 16 to 21 at the Blue Ribbon Deer Lodge Fairgrounds. This year's theme is "Gold Pans and Cattle Brands;" the fair will highlight local brands in the exhibit building. There'll be fun for the entire family with the NRA Rodeo, Ranch Rodeo, Team Roping, Demolition Derby, 4H-FFA Livestock Auction, Chili Cook-off, Apple Pie Contest, Quilt Show, Yard Contest, and a Saturday Parade. Residents of Powell, Granite, and Deer Lodge counties are invited to submit entries. Enjoy more than 800 classes covering arts and crafts, flowers, woodworking, photography, beer and winemaking, baking, sewing, vegetables, garden displays, and more. 529 Main Street, 406-846-2094.

Head to Cardwell from August 18 to 20 for Headwaters Country Jam, Montana's biggest annual country music festival. Enjoy three days of country music's biggest stars, set among rolling hills that form a natural amphitheater near the Jefferson River. The line-up includes Chris Janson, Lee Brice, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Craig Morgan, and Granger Smith ft. Earl Dibbles Jr., Ian Munsick, Casey Donahew, Kameron Marlowe, Red Clay Strays, Tyler Rich, King, Calaway, MacKenzie Porter, and more TBA. Passes: Three day: GA $170, student $150, VIP $345, single day pass $80. Camping available. 1865 MT-2, 855-821-9212, headwaterscountryjam.com.

For family fun attractions of a fair and rodeo drive over to Boulder for the Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo from August 25 to 28. The "A Fair of the Heart" features food, arts, crafts, live music, a carousel, animals, and gardening, and exhibits in hundreds of categories, with each exhibit earning a ribbon and special prizes awarded. There'll be carousel rides and a children's coloring contest. The In-County Rodeo will be held Thursday; Kids' Horse Show, Parade & Rodeo Friday; and on Saturday the Parade, 4-H auction, food auction, BBQ, and a Barn Dance with The Longhorn Band. NRA Rodeos will take place Friday and Saturday.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth. Admission to the fairgrounds is free. Jefferson County Recreation Park/Fairgrounds, 406-225- 4039, jeffersonmtfairrodeo.org.

Ennis is the scene for all things fly fishing at the Fly Fishing and Outdoor Festival, held August 27 and 28 with celebrity speakers and seminars, casting clinics and competitions, fly-fishing clinics, tackle dealers and exhibitors, angling art, kids' programs, BBQs, live music, and raffles. Saturday there'll be fly tying demonstrations, speakers, an archery competition and exhibition, and a BBQ with live music. Sunday, more fly tying demonstrations and speakers, along with a casting competition, dinner, live music with country western artist Marcedes Carroll, and a live auction. Raffle tickets for top-of-the-line fishing tackle, rods, reels, guided trips, artworks, and more will round out the weekend. Peter T's Park, Main St., 406-682- 4388, ennischamber.com-/fly-fishing-and-outdoor-festival.

Squeeze one more festival into Labor Day weekend, September 2 to 5, when Dillon hosts Montana's Biggest Weekend, combining rodeos, a concert, and a parade. The action begins Friday at Beaverhead County Fairgrounds with Ranch Rodeo seeing real cowboys and cowgirls in action, a wild horse race, and a contest to kiss the pig. Saturday at the PRCA Rodeo see your favorite pro cowgirls and cowboys and on Sunday watch the championship events, along with the 35th Annual Concert with headliner Kip Moore and opener Tyler Halvers. Keep Monday free to watch the Labor Day Parade, heralding this year's theme, Dillon Decades, with Parade Marshall Evelyn Lohman. 707 S Argenta St., 406-925-9429,https://www.dillonjaycees.com/montana-s-biggest-weekend.