Helena-area arts and entertainment news
Music
Helena Symphony begins 70th season
The Helena Symphony Orchestra starts its 70th year Saturday at the Helena Civic Center with an evening of music by George Gershwin, including the 100th anniversary of his jazz-inspired “Rhapsody in Blue.”
The symphony is also having an Opening Night After Party.
Bandleader Paul Whiteman commissioned George Gershwin to write a “jazz concerto” to be included in a concert titled An Experiment in Modern Music in New York on Feb. 12, 1924. With Gershwin performing the solo piano part, Rhapsody in Blue was a success.
The evening features leading Gershwin interpreter, pianist Kevin Cole and Grammy Award-winning soprano Sylvia McNair.
The performance starts at 5:30 p.m.
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Single concert tickets ($20- $60 plus a $5 transaction fee) can purchased online at www.helenasymphony.org, by calling the Symphony Box Office (406.442.1860), or visiting the Symphony Box Office on the Walking Mall at the Placer Building (21 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 100) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Tickets for the remaining Non-Series Concerts, Mozart by Candlelight and Christmas in the Cathedral, go on sale to the public on Monday.
Tickets for the Opening Night After Party are on sale now on the Helena Symphony website or by calling the Symphony office at 406.442.1860. Single tickets are $70, a table of 8 is $525, and a table of 10 is $650.
The after-party celebration will include catered fare, cocktails and live and silent auctions, featuring items donated by artist Al Swanson, Orofino, the Archie Bray, Green Meadow Country Club and other Montana favorites.
This annual fundraiser will not only serve to launch Season 70, but will also help Helena Symphony, under the guidance of Maestro Allan R. Scott, and its mission to enrich and inspire lives through music. The funds raised through each ticket sold, auction item purchased and donation made will directly support the performances.
Fall Fest held at fairgrounds
Fall Fest is being held at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds this week at 98 W. Custer Ave.
Country music singer Nate Smith performs Thursday night and country music band Sawyer Brown performs Friday.
Insufficient Funds is the opening act both nights. Both shows are 7:30 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $45 for Nate Smith and $40 for Sawyer Brown.
Tickets are on sale at the fairgrounds box office, Custer Ave. or at lastchancestampede.com.
The Dreamland Carnival is also going on at the fairgrounds this week.
It is 4 p.m. to closing on Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. to closing on Saturday and Sunday.
Presale tickets are available at Vans Thriftway and the fairgrounds office. Pre-sale tickets are $25 and $30 day of.
Pre-sale ends 4 p.m. Thursday.
Big Sky City Lights to perform
SpaceOneEleven and Brothers Tapworks are teaming up to provide an evening of music.
Big Sky City Lights will perform 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Brothers Tapworks, 40 S. Last Chance Gulch.
Big Sky City Lights includes singer-songwriter-guitarist Nick Spear of Montana and singer-songwriter Susan O’Dea of New York, who offer contemporary folk-pop.
Local Artist Kali Armstrong will be the opening act.
Tickets are $20 and available at https://go.helenair.com/bj1zx1.
Community
Mai Wah celebrates moon festival
The Mai Wah Society is holding a “Moon Festival” at its museum in Uptown Butte (17 W. Mercury St.) from 2-4 p.m. Saturday.
Sometimes called the Mid-Autumn Festival, the festival is second only to Chinese New Year when it comes to Chinese celebrations and is a time for families to reunite for feasts, worship the moon, light paper lanterns, and eat moon cakes.
It’s held when the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest. In Chinese culture, the full moon is a symbol of reunion, hence the gathering with family. The tradition stretches back 3,000 years.
Also, the museum will be decorated with paper lanterns created by area children who can pick up kits at the Butte-Silver Bow Library (226 W. Broadway St).
Living History Day on Saturday
“Step Back in Time” Living History Day will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at The Bear Dance Ranch.
Parking is available at 6900 Montana Ave. Admission is free.
There will be demonstrations of historic skills: Blacksmithing, gold panning, leather working, mining and assay, flintknapping, spinning, weaving and quilting.
There will be displays of Native American culture, frontier firearms, food cultivation/preservation and a 1860s military camp.
The event, sponsored by The Montana Living History Program, includes re-enactments, music, food and more.
Historical society offers lectures
The Montana Historical Society’s Fall Lecture Series is back.
The focus is on children and the Mann Gulch at 2 p.m. Sept. 14, at the Lewis & Clark Library. Staff from the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest will guide a hands-on children’s workshop focused on the causes, consequences and lessons learned from the deadly Mann Gulch fire.
On Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lewis & Clark Library, Martha Kohl, the MTHS Outreach and Education program manager, will speak about “Women’s Activism in Montana: The Progressive Era.” This lecture will explore women organizers like Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who worked to improve their communities and shape Montana politics and history.
All the programs are free and open to the public. Programs will be recorded and available at the Montana Historical Society’s YouTube page.
For more information, contact Lau Marsh at [email protected].
Art
Ho Ho Holter seeks submissions
The Holter Museum of Art is seeking submissions for the 2024 Ho Ho Holter Art Show and Sale, which will be Nov. 8 to Dec. 31.
Submit your artwork and fine craft items to sell in the Holter Museum this holiday season and offer patrons unique, high-quality, handmade artwork.
The deadline to submit is Sept. 20.
For full guidelines and details, visit Ho Ho Holter Application 2024 – The Holter (holtermuseum.org)
For more information, contact Curator Gianna Sherman at [email protected] or Store and Permanent Collections Manager Hannah Harvey at [email protected].
O’Malley to speak at The Bray
Local artist Danielle O’Malley will lead an artist talk on art during the “Artist Amplified at The Bray” event at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in the Archie Bray Foundation Education Center. The event is free and the public may attend.
O’Malley is a large-scale sculptor who works and resides in Helena.
Submissions to the Around the Town calendar should be emailed to [email protected] and should be 200 words or less. Submissions should be written in story form, no flyers please. . Please write Please write “Around the Town” in the subject line. Call Phil Drake at 406-447-4086 if you have questions.
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