Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It has a fair-like environment and celebrates everything cherry, including pie-eating con-
tests, seed-spitting contests, exhibitions, and entertainment throughout the weekend. The
event is typically held the third weekend in July, and it is among the best ways to enjoy the
phenomenal cherry harvest.
The repertory theater at
Bigfork Summer Playhouse
(526 Electric Ave., Bigfork, 406/
837-4886,
www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com
,
performances 8pm Mon.-Sat. plus occa-
sional matinees 2pm Sun., mid-May-Labor Day, $24-28 adults, $22 seniors 65 and older,
$15 children 10 and under) is a standout in the Northwest. For more than 50 years the com-
pany has been staging award-winning productions of musical classics like
Fiddler on the
Roof, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
and
Sugar Babies.
The contemporary theater is quite com-
fortable and roomy with 400 seats and air-conditioning. Also running all summer in Bigfork
is the
Riverbend Concert Series
(Everit Slider Park, downtown Bigfork, 406/837-5888,
6pm Sun. mid-June-mid-Aug., $3), held every Sunday. The bring-your-own-seating con-
certs range from jazz to big band and light opera. Held annually the first weekend in
August, Bigfork's
Festival of the Arts
(406/881-4636,
www.bigforkfestivalofthearts.com
)
has been attracting visitors and artists alike since 1978 with more than 150 booths, food,
and entertainment.
The thing about the beauty in this part of the state is that it's all very user-friendly. The
mountains can be climbed, the rivers fished, the lake swum. And although public land is
harder to find, especially along Flathead Lake, there are still plenty of marvelous places to
hike.
MM
Cherry Picking
Picking fresh, sweet Flathead cherries, or just eating them, is an idyllic way to spend an
afternoon. There are several orchards along the east side of the lake between Polson and
Bigfork, so don't be shy about stopping at roadside stands to do a little taste-testing; in this
valley, you can't go wrong. The primary harvest is late July-mid-August. The average sea-
son lasts just 7-10 days. Try
Bigfork Orchards
(246 Flathead Lake Place/Hwy. 35, 3 miles
south of Bigfork at mile marker 28.5 on the east shore of Flathead, 406/837-4811) or
Bow-
man Orchards
(19944 East Shore Rd./Hwy. 35, 10 miles south of Bigfork at mile marker
21.5 on the east shore of Flathead, 406/982-3246,
www.bowmancherries.com
)
, a family-
owned business since 1921 that grows a variety of cherries and sells both the fresh fruit and
a number of delicious cherry products.
Hockaday Orchards
(45 Hockaday Ln., Lakeside,
