News & Updates

It’s gonna be a high-value Saturday in all ways

So far about 150 people have signed up to have up to four treasures each verbally appraised by experts as part of the Foundation for Montana History’s Montana Antiques Appraisal Fair. This is Kalispell’s turn to host this popular, unique event.

The museum has submitted a couple of items for public appraisal during the day, such as this arrow quiver from the Edo period in Japan that one of the museum’s board members found in the shed of her place in Somers.

This fundraiser for the foundation draws a range of items and people for a day of education and entertainment. There are a few afternoon slots left; sign up at https://thefoundationformontanahistory.thundertix.com/events/232678 (no firearms, chemicals, or jewelry). Otherwise, it’s free to spectate and soak in the atmosphere from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.

See you Saturday at the fair!

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Here comes a party for the pages

Just in time for reading season, the Northwest Montana History Museum welcomes book writers and lovers from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, for a program of speakers and exhibitors focused on Northwest Montana.

Featured speakers include Debra Magpie Earling, Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Melissa Barker & Stewart Wilson, and Leslie Budewitz.

We also welcome writers and publishers to exhibit their books; please submit an application by Oct. 25 at nwmthistory.org/programs/northwest-montana-book-festival/. Help us present a wide range of subjects and genres by spreading the word!

Festival mission: Gather Northwest Montana readers and authors to promote, celebrate, and inspire regional writing and writers.

Thank you to Humanities Montana for the support.

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Come meet the new “Lumberjacks, Tie Hacks & River Pigs”

Join us for the grand reopening of the oldest exhibit at the Northwest Montana History Museum.

Months in the making, the wholesale renovation of the Northwest Montana History Museum’s “timber room” will be unveiled 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18. In one of the biggest undertakings since the opening of the Kalispell: Montana’s Eden exhibit, the museum began the redo in spring of its first and oldest permanent exhibit, which had opened in 2003.

Volunteers and vendors from all over the valley, along with students from Kalispell Public Schools, worked to install a model train layout featuring the Somers tie plant and other past and present Flathead Valley landmarks. Renowned Columbia Falls muralist Clark Heyler painted the backdrop.

A new timeline of events in the history of the Northwest Montana timber industry brings our understanding up to date and includes innovative wood products made here.

Volunteers also took a deep dive into the museum’s collection to create displays of historic tools, clothing, and even what grub got served in a logging camp. Learn what it meant to have hot cakes nailed to your door if you were a camp cook.

The museum’s rich photographic archive yielded dozens of images showing the various methods of logging over 150 years, in places that many Flathead Valley residents know well. These were enlarged, printed, and mounted in the windows and along the walls.

For the Oct. 18 open house, adults in flannel will receive a free pint glass while supplies last. Kids can enter a drawing to win a wooden toy train.

We look forward to seeing you soon among Lumberjacks, Tie Hacks & River Pigs!

Details:
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, 2024
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 2nd Ave. E., 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

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East Glacier Park artist Valentina LaPier shows “Paintings for MMIP”

Born in Browning, Valentina LaPier was raised in various places throughout the western United States, then returned to Montana in 1987.

She lives and works in East Glacier Park.

LaPier began painting as a young girl, selling her first free-form painting at the age of 14. She became a full-time artist in 1987.

She works primarily with acrylics, although her favorite medium is watercolor. She admires the works of Georges Braque, Robert Motherwell, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky, and her paintings reflect their influence.

The paintings in this exhibit, such as Yellow Parfleche (shown), were produced between 2023 and 2024 and are shown to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples, or MMIP.

Details: Regular museum hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; artist’s reception is 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

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Nov. 17 will be one for the books

We’ve got some big events in store this fall, starting with a new exhibit of paintings by Valentina LaPier, the grand reopening of Lumberjacks, Tie Hacks & River Pigs, the Montana Antiques Appraisal Fair, and then the first-ever Northwest Montana Book Festival, set for Nov. 17!

Check back here for more details to post soon. In the meantime, enjoy a last look at Ray Weaver’s photography (above), which comes down this week in our north changing gallery.

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Kalispell’s culture core celebrates the community it serves

The Conrad Mansion Museum, Hockaday Museum of Art, and Northwest Montana History Museum will offer discounted admission to all three institutions 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, to celebrate Locals Day.

Visitors who show their Montana driver’s licenses can buy a “passport” to the Conrad, Hockaday, and the Northwest Montana History Museum—all located within a nine-minute walk of one another in downtown Kalispell. The passports are available for purchase at all three locations.

The passport costs $10 for adults; kids 18 and under are free.

Locals Day is a chance for community institutions to extend their reach, introduce missions and offerings, and gather residents to celebrate Kalispell’s culture core.

Details:
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14
Conrad Mansion, 330 Woodland Ave., 406-755-2166; conradmansion.com
Hockaday Museum of Art, 302 2nd Ave. E., 406-755-5268; hockadaymuseum.com
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 2nd Ave. E., 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

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Put on your poncho

Directed by Sergio Leone, the low-budget A Fistful of Dollars was the first of three movies featuring Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name. After its release in 1964, it was followed by For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and took Eastwood from a relatively unknown television actor to movie stardom.

The classic spaghetti western screens 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the Northwest Montana History Museum.

Doors open 6:30 p.m. Admission and popcorn are free, but donations are accepted to help defray the costs of Movie Night. Soda, water, beer, and wine are available for purchase. Seating is provided, but viewers are welcome to bring their own cushions or seating.

Marking its 25-year anniversary, the Northwest Montana History Museum brings the past alive through exhibits, artifacts, educational programs, and events. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through August) at 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Call 406-756-8381.

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The Great Fish Community Challenge is off and swimming

The Northwest Montana History Museum is honored to be selected to participate in the Whitefish Community Foundation’s five-week fundraising blitz that benefits 80 nonprofits doing great work in the Flathead.

Thank you to the organizers and all the past donors! We hope to make this year our must successful run yet, netting the match that kicks in once we reach the $10,000 mark and raising funds that help us present and preserve more Northwest Montana history.

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Walking tours get inky

Reporter Maggie Doherty recently joined one of our Downtown Kalispell Walking Tours, and her extensive writeup is now online.

It’s also featured in a tactile version in the current issue of Flathead Living. Pick one up for fun stories, great pics, and a long look at our town full of interesting architecture and characters.

Aside from the 10 a.m. Monday tours through September (except Sept. 9), we just added two tours at 4 p.m. Fridays, Sept. 20 and 27. After September, the walks roll up for the winter. Get out and dig this history while you can.

Here’s more info, then contact the museum to reserve a space or click here.

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