Helena-area arts and entertainment news

The Foundation for Montana History, in partnership with the Bert and Ernie’s Pub Trolley, is offering a series of haunted riding tours around downtown Helena on weeknights from Sept. 23 through October.

Tickets are $40 per person or $50 per person for the extended Friday night ride and available for purchase at www.mthistory.org/tours.

Guided tours feature Reeder’s Alley, the west end mansion district, Grandstreet Theatre and more. Participants meet at the Myrna Loy theater, 15 N. Ewing St., to begin their haunted adventure.

These tours are an extension of The Foundation’s Helena History Tours program. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes during their tour. The top costume on each tour will walk away with a special prize.

“The Ghost Gulch tour allows members of the community to experience the past from those have passed in the Helena area,” says Community Outreach Manager Zachary Coe.

Non-pedaling seats are available on the pub trolley and participants can expect the tour to last around two hours. Ghost Gulch features multiple stops at downtown Helena businesses.

The Foundation for Montana History is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity raising money for history and preservation projects across Montana. All Ghost Gulch proceeds support the foundation’s grant program.

For more information, contact Coe at zachary@mthistory.org or call 406.449.3770.

On Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lewis & Clark Library, Martha Kohl, the Montana Historical Society 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.

The program is 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 laura.marsh@mt.gov.

The fourth annual Sweet Bee Fall Vintage Market will be held Friday and Saturday at the Helena Civic Center.

It runs 5-8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 340 Neill Ave.

There will be more than 70 vendors featuring vintage curated items and handcrafted wares. There will also be live music, adult beverages, food trucks, baked goods and food. There will also be free crafts for children to make.

Early Bird Shopping admission is $5, Saturday $5. Ages 12 and under are free.

For tickets or more information, go to: https://www.sweetbeevintagemarket.com/.

The AKC Dog Show/Fall Roundup Cluster in Helena will be held Thursday through Sunday in the Exhibition Hall at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, 98 E. Custer Ave.

The event will include an all-breed dog show, rally and obedience trial. It is through the combined efforts of the Helena Montana Kennel Club and the Gallatin Kennel Club. The show is open to the public. 

The show runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

A large majority of the 180-plus AKC recognized breeds are represented at this cluster show. This is a great opportunity to meet the breeds and the breeders, organizers said. 

Join Carroll College Theatre for the Broadway musical “Little Women,” running Sept. 20-Oct. 6.

In a world where women are expected to act a certain way, one young woman dares to dream beyond those expectations.

Set in Civil War America, Jo March creates fantastical stories of heroics and romance. With her sisters, Meg, Beth and Amy, and her best friend Laurie, Jo writes and performs her imaginative stories with the hopes of one day selling them and becoming a world-famous writer.

The show is 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. The performance is about 2 1/2 hours. Tickets are $5 with a Carroll ID or for children under 12, $12 for non-Carroll students and seniors, and $15 for general admission. Purchase tickets at the door or online at https://cct.booktix.com.

The FLEX Theatre is in the lower level of the campus center near the corner of Benton and Lyndale avenues in the building with the bookstore. There is a wheelchair ramp on the east side of the building and an elevator that goes down to the theater level.

The Heart of Helena Art Show and Auction is pleased to announce St. Peter’s Health of Helena as its first major sponsor for the 2025 event.

“We are thrilled to sponsor the event with $2,500.00 as we know how important it is to provide local not-for-profit organizations the resources they need for a healthier community,” wrote Casey Kyler-West, Communications and Engagement Specialist for St. Peter’s Health.

This event is an outreach into the Helena community by St Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral. The first Heart of Helena Art Show and Auction in April provided financial support to 12 nonprofits including: Family Promise, Habitat for Humanity, The Friendship Center, Florence Crittenton Home, God’s Love, Helena Food Share, YWCA, Rocky Head Start, Good Samaritan, Intermountain, Personal Care Pantry and St. Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral Next 100 Years Campaign.

The 2024 event was entirely underwritten by St Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral. Over 200 pieces of art were donated and over $22,000 was raised.

For more information on sponsorship for the 2025 Heart of Helena Art Show and Auction please contact Dave Gallik at Gallik Law Office 1125 Billings Ave. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Dave@galliklaw.com or 406-443-0009 or Dan Carlson-Thompson, danlzzie@msn.com or 406-465-2022.

“Plants and Their Place in the Rocky Mountain Region,” produced by the artists of the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists, will be in the Millikan Gallery of the Holter Museum of Art Sept. 27-Nov. 3, 12 E. Lawrence St.

There will be an opening reception 6-8 p.m. Sept. 27, with an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. The public may attend.

The Rocky Mountain region encompasses a wide range of plant communities and habitats.

The artworks are realistic portrayals of plants, their flowers, fruiting bodies, seeds, roots and pollinators. Each piece is scientifically accurate, ensuring all aspects are true reflections of the plant portrayed.

Founded in 1997, the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the first regional chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists and is dedicated to promoting public awareness of contemporary botanical art, honoring its traditions, and furthering its development.

An opening reception for “A Brush with Expression,” featuring work from the Art Center, will be held at the Holter Museum of Art 6-8 p.m. Sept. 27, 12 E. Lawrence St.

The show will run Sept. 27-Nov. 3 in the Held and Nicholson galleries.

The show features work by members of the Art Center, featuring local painters who gather monthly to encourage and support one another through group painting experiences, workshops, educational activities and exhibits. It is a nonprofit organization that promotes the visibility of art in the community.

The MSU School of Art will host an art auction and gala dinner to endow scholarships for students.

Works from over 60 of Montana’s most noted artists will be auctioned to fund scholarships for MSU art students.

An auction preview, open to the public, with be available 5 p.m. Oct. 3 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 4. The auction will culminate at a gala dinner at 5 p.m. Oct. 5. All events will be held in the Emerson Ballroom, 111 S. Grand Ave. in Bozeman.

The auction includes art donated by artists with a connection to the school. Thanks to gracious underwriters, all auction proceeds will go directly to an endowment fund for the art students.

Tickets for the dinner are $150 and may also be purchased on the website.

To participate in the auction online or in person, or to buy ticket to the gala dinner, visit the website at https://go.helenair.com/3adg3b.