BUTTE, HELENA, AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA - Montana and Wyoming - page 313

Montana Irish Festival, an outdoor celebration of Celtic music and dance complete
with foot races, concerts, and dance performances. Another Butte program, Project
Children, brings Irish children and young adults of different faiths to Butte to work
on projects like Habitat for Humanity to show them that religious differences need
not prevent cooperation and communication.
Undoubtedly the best-known Irish event in Butte is the annual St. Patrick's Day
celebration. Some 30,000 people descend on the city, creating bedlam that some see
as a fabulous party. The day kicks off with a parade in uptown Butte led by the An-
cient Order of Hibernians. There's a piper luncheon, concerts, and dances, and the
city's plentiful bars host massive crowds for green beer and Irish festivities. This
Montana version of New Year's Eve in Times Square is more than a little rough-
and-tumble: One gets a real sense of what life as a Butte miner must have been like
around the turn of the 20th century.
CHRISTMAS STROLL AND ICE SCULPTING FESTIVAL
Held on successive weekends in December, the Christmas Stroll and the Ice Sculpting
Festival celebrate the past, present, and future of uptown Butte. The Christmas Stroll usu-
ally takes place the first Friday evening in December and offers a number of activities for
the whole family. It is a community-centered event with food vendors, music, dancing, a
parade, a visit from Santa, and a tree-lighting ceremony. Many businesses get involved
by offering treats and special events to strollers. There are also plenty of places along the
parade route to stop in for a toddy.
Resulting in dozens of marvelous ice sculptures placed around town, the annual Ice
Sculpting Contest is another family-oriented event that kicks off with a breakfast with Santa
and culminates in the judging of the sculptures. Progress on the carving can be monitored
throughout the day as you stroll around uptown Butte.
Information on both events is available from Mainstreet Uptown Butte (66 W. Park St.,
Ste. 211, 406/497-6464, www.mainstreetbutte.org ) .
SHOPPING
Once home to 100,000 people and a number of copper kings, it's no surprise that Butte of-
fers plenty of antiques shopping in the historic uptown. There are several antiques stores in
the area bounded by Main, Montana, Granite, and Galena Streets. Broadway Antiques (45
W. Broadway St., 406/723-4270) is packed with trinkets and treasures. Not exactly an an-