BUTTE, HELENA, AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA - Montana and Wyoming - page 311

Today, the Mother Lode provides performance space for the Butte Symphony, Montana
Repertory Theatre, Missoula Children's Theatre, Western States Opera Company, Montana
Chorale, the San Diego Ballet Company, and numerous other events and organizations.
Festivals and Events
CHINESE NEW YEAR
A reflection of Butte's diverse population and cosmopolitan history, each Chinese New
Year the community gathers to celebrate with a parade from the courthouse to the Mai Wah
Museum (17 W. Mercury St., 406/723-3231, www.maiwah.org ). For the year of the dragon,
the Mai Wah pulls out its 60-foot paper dragon to dance through the streets of uptown Butte.
The event is punctuated by 10,000 fireworks, and in 2009 it was voted among the six most
interesting parades in the country by Reader's Digest. The parade will be held on February
21, 2015 (year of the sheep); February 13, 2016 (year of the monkey) and February 4, 2017
(year of the rooster).
ST. PATRICK'S DAY
In a town largely composed of Sullivans, Shannons, Harringtons, O'Neills, Sheas,
Driscolls, and O'Briens, is it any wonder that the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration is
probably the biggest party of the year? Some 30,000 people descend on the city in March
to celebrate the strong Irish community with a parade in uptown Butte led by the Ancient
Order of Hibernians. There are events all over the city, including a piper luncheon, concerts,
dances, and, of course, no shortage of places to fill up on frosty green beer.
MONTANA FOLK FESTIVAL
The largest free outdoor music festival in the Northwest, the Montana Folk Festival (406/
497-6464, www.montanafolkfestival.com ) is held annually in mid-July and features per-
formances by more than 200 musicians, dancers, and craftspeople. There are six stages in-
cluding a family stage, a dancing pavilion for participatory dancing, as well as marketplaces
and a food court. Music styles run the gamut from Ethiopian funk to Western swing, Latin
dance, gospel, blues, and, of course, bluegrass. For history buffs (who will love the setting)
and music lovers, this is a fantastic event.
AN RÍ RÁ
Held annually the second week of August, An Rí Rá (Park St. between N. Main St. and N.
Montana St., www.mtgaelic.org ) is the less bawdy cousin to St. Patrick's Day. The event
focuses less on drinking (there are no alcohol sponsors and no alcohol sold at the festival it-
self) and more on Irish culture and traditions, with music and dancing, drama, and historical