Uptown Butte

With St. Patrick's Day falling on a Monday this year, many revelers and guests will be using a sick day and turning the annual celebration in the Mining City into a raucous three-day weekend. Many people from Butte included. While Butte loves to play host and nobody loves a good party like the Mining City, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you plan on tearing it up in Butte this St. Patrick's Day.

Today, the landmark neon M&M sign, saved from the fire's destruction, finally went back up, filling a big void on the Uptown Butte landscape.

The Butte Tourism Business Improvement District, or TBIF, knows that people who come to events stay in our hotels, motels, inns and properties and that those people also spend plenty of money in our local stores and restaurants. Are you a person involved with an event that brings people to Butte? There may be grant money available for your event. The TBID Grant Cycle for January 2025 is now open to Butte-Silver Bow County entities. Applications can be accessed here and will be accepted through January 31st at 5pm.

The Elks has been in the process of a multi-tiered renovation and remodeling project, and they are inviting you to stop by Saturday at 7pm for their Grand Re-opening. You'll see the improvements that have been made to the main bar and reception area along with the great new stage. Tours of the building will be given and as part of the celebration, you will be able to learn about the many things the Elks do here in our community and ways that you can help out or even join as they look forward to new community initiatives and new members.

If there is one bright spot in the days following the return of Daylight Savings Time it is, well, the return of Dark. Dark Sevier, that is. Tuesday night at the Covellite Theater, 215 W. Broadway in Uptown Butte, the “Dark Nights of Winter” open mic series begins its second season after an impressive run on the soapbox in the commons last year. All ages and styles of performance are welcome and encouraged to participate.

The Science Mine in Butte is a non-profit, hands-on learning center serving not only Butte but all of Southwest Montana. Their mission? "To provide a family fun environment to make, learn, invent, craft, recycle, build, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, science, and technology in our community." They want to make science fun. They have movie screenings and family events. They dive into fun topics. Recently they had a 3D printing event, for example. And they're not just for the youngsters as they welcome kids of all ages. All you need is the desire to learn.

Here in Montana, we are very familiar with wildlife sightings within city limits, particularly if you live near the outskirts of town. Deer are commonplace. It's not even uncommon for the occasional moose to wander into town, although it will certainly raise a few eyebrows and be discussed on social media. But on a rare occasion, a predator will arrive and that's when people really start talking. That is what is happening in Uptown Butte this morning.

Have you checked out the old Stephens Hotel on the corner of Park and Montana? Well, you may have and just not realized it. The Stephens Block, on the southeast corner of the intersection was once part of a bustling Uptown urban environment with the mines in full operation, shops that rivaled those of New York or Chicago and 24/7 entertainment and nightlife just down Park Street. Today? Different, yet familiar.

There is just something about outdoor music in the second half of summer that rings true to a lot of us, and there might not be a more fitting way to end the season's "Lunch in the Park" series than with "Dinner in the Park". That's exactly what's happening tonight, and this might just be the best one of the summer, as the Butte Symphony will spread across the Emma Park Gazebo (and probably into the adjoining space) to entertain hungry music lovers of all ages starting at 5:30pm. Under the direction of Luis Millan, the Butte Symphony is in its 74th season of bringing the joy and healing power of music to Southwest Montana and tonight's performance is completely free of charge.

Well, the big weekend is finally here. The Montana Folk Festival has arrived, and we can expect three days of incredible music from all over the globe, unique cuisine, one-of-a-kind crafts and thousands of people converging on the Mining City. With several stages spread across the eastern perimeter of Uptown Butte and several street closures going into effect, parking will again be a challenge this year.