General news from the Montana Folk Festival.
Ripple is a newly recognized education and research center within the Montana University System. Located at Montana Technological University, Ripple is integral to the campus and the surrounding community. Ripple is expanding the mission and vision of the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program to other watersheds in Montana, currently working …
Paint a mini canvas to add to a larger canvas mosaic! All ages and artistic abilities are welcome to help honor our community and the creative spirit in this collaborative masterpiece!
Our mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. We provide funding for Permanent Land Protection and Land Conservation, Habitat Stewardship and Enhancement, Research for wildlife management, and Hunting Heritage Projects. Our Vision is to be the best membership-based conservation organization and …
Montana Wetlands and Waterfowl is the only Montana-based conservation and education organization focusing on waterfowl and their habitats. To do this, we work with area schools, other organizations, and agencies to hold educational events, presentations, and workshops. We have on-the-ground projects like our hen house program where we build duck nesting structures …
The Science Mine began in the 1990’s as a gleam or a dream in the eyes of a few individuals in Butte, Montana, where children could interactively play with and experience the wonders and sometimes counter-intuitive nature of the world around them. At the risk of omitting some of these …
Dalit Guscio of the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program and the Montana Osprey Program has been working with osprey in the Clark Fork for over ten years. She will walk through the process of banding osprey, our current understanding of food-chain effects from metals, and discuss the awesome evolutionary adaptations …
Joan Martin, owner of Martin’s Masks. Joan started Martin’s Masks in 2017 after the company she was working for as a laboratory technician closed its doors. She has always been an artistic person, if you asked the 5-year-old Joan what she wanted to be when she grew up, the answer …
Diane embarked on her journey into engraving in 1986, around the same time her husband, Bob, delved into crafting bits and spurs. Together, they started Sweetwater Silver. In those early days, skilled hand engravers were scarce, and when Diane finally located a potential mentor, the individual was unwilling to impart …
Glenn Brackett, a renowned fly-rod maker and devoted fisherman, traces his passion for angling back to his formative years spent fishing with his father and grandfather. He would often visit the Winston Rod Company during his youth, first around eight years old with his grandfather. As his father’s woodworking business …
Interested in smithing from the time he was a teen, Glenn Goldthwait began his dream of a rural, self-sustaining life in 1977. It was then that he built three hand-hewn cabins and found that the traditional ironwork needed for hinges and latches was not available. He purchased an anvil, a …
Marc Brogger, a fifth-generation Western horseman, has built over 900 saddles since the start of his career in 1981. He is well respected in the Western community for his intricate leather work and flower stamping, bringing his skills to creating ornately hand-tooled saddles which bridge art and utility. On the …
The first loom Maude sat down to was threaded to an overshot draft. As a beginner, she let her foot travel across the treadles and watched amazed as the sheds opened and closed – the yarn from the shuttle floating over and under – and a marvelous wavy fabric growing …
Over the course of his 45-year career in crafting Western and working boots and shoes, Mike Ryan has meticulously crafted over 5,000 pairs of custom boots for clients spanning from Montana to the broader Western region. Growing up outside Brusett, Montana, Mike developed an interest in boot and shoemaking, inspired …
Olivia “Rose” Williamson, owner and operator of Lady Pompadour Beadwork and Design, has garnered widespread recognition within the Apsáalooke community and across the Northern Plains. Renowned for her expertise in traditional beadwork, Rose is affectionately referred to by friend Carrie Moran McCleary as a “certified bead florist,” further stating that …
Terry Hill, a fourth-generation Montanan, spent 29 years as a game warden for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks before retiring in 2007. Come 2009, Terry discovered his love for segmented woodturning through a course taught by Rich Charlson, a previous MCAM honoree, who he studied under for …
Tom Dean, a completely self-taught artist, discovered his passion for woodwork at the age of 45, beginning his experimentation in 2005. Guided by what he refers to as his God-given talent, Tom transitioned to full-time artist status in 2008 and began producing his artwork under the name of Milo Creek …
Presenter: Interviews on Stage – Sunday Born and raised on her family’s Montana ranch where the Great Plains rise up to meet the Rocky Mountains, Dr. Edrienne (Cindy) Kittredge has lived and worked across the US before finding her way home. Kittredge studied at the College of William and Mary, …
Presenter: Interviews on Stage – Saturday Mike has been involved in numerous field work, projects and folk festivals across the West and in the southern Appalachians, documenting traditional music, cultural and occupational traditions. He worked for the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Program as well as on projects of the American Folklife …
Brazilian Choro For 19 years, Choro das 3 was a family band formed by the three sisters: Corina (flute and piccolo), Lia (7 string guitar), Elisa (mandolin, clarinet, banjo, piano and accordion) and their late father Eduardo (pandeiro), who tragically succumbed to COVID-19 in 2021. Everything started with a volunteer …
Ethiojazz Hailu Mergia was born in 1946 in the Shewa Province of the Ethoipian Empire. and moved to the capital Addis Adaba at age 10. He had grown up on traditional Oromo, Amhara, and Tigrinya songbook melodies, and taught himself the accordion at age 14. His mastering of the accordion, as well as …
Irish | Springfield, Illinois Reverie Road is a fresh, eclectic celtic combination, featuring fiddler Winifred Horan and accordionist John Williams (founding Solas members) alongside former Gaelic Storm fiddler Katie Grennan and Jazz and Raga pianist Utsav Lal (Young Steinway Artist). This powerful combination is made up of four of today’s …
Meti Fiddle | Harlem, Montana Jamie Fox is a Métis fiddler of the Aaniih and Nakoda tribes of Montana. The Métis are members of ethnic groups native to Canada and parts of the United States that trace their descent to both Indigenous North Americans and European settlers. Jamie grew up …
Flamenco | New York, NY Hailed by The New York Times as “a furnace of earthy sensuality”, Sonia Olla was born and raised in Barcelona when she earned a degree in Spanish Dance and Flamenco at the esteemed “Instituto de Teatro y Danza” in Barcelona. She has toured as company member and …
Japanese Traditional | Los Angeles, California The Wagaku Collective (和楽器コレクティブ) is Terry Nguyen, Shih-wei Wu and Wes Hayashi. The Los Angeles based trio are composed of three Asian American musicians that share the love and respect for traditional Japanese folk music. Through live performance, storytelling and workshops, The Wagaku Collective aims …
Country and Western Swing | Seguin, Texas Sam Platts and the Plainsmen, based in Seguin, Texas, play traditional country and western swing. Sam Platts leads the group on guitar and vocals. Songs range from Sam’s originals to country and western swing covers. They have played around the world for …
