Flathead Lake Lodge
Summer is almost here, and with the long sunny days bringing everyone out of their winter slumber, the picturesque village of Bigfork is coming to life for another great summer.
Although it is hard to leave the ranch during your vacation, (Often we have to remind guests to save some time for some R & R) the quick walk to downtown Bigfork is a great way to spend some time away from the ranch.
Aside from the great galleries, shops and restaurants, there are many exciting events happening throughout this summer that just might coincide with your stay!
Here is the schedule of some the big events! For more events visit www.bigfork.org
36th Annual Bigfork Whitewater Festival
May 26th & 27th
Watch local and regional professional and armature kayakers take on the ‘Wild Mile’ as it flows through Downtown Bigfork.
National Wildlife Federation Fundraiser w/ special guest Jack Hanna
June 29
Join special guest Jack Hannah for a entertaining and fundraising night to bring a wild her of Bison back to Montana
July 4th Celebration
July 4th
Famous and recognized nationally for it’s small town spectacle. The Bigfork celebration and parade is something to see.
Saddle Up and Paint
July 17th
Join local and regional artists as the create lasting works of art for charity.
34th Annual Festival of the Arts
Aug 4th – 5th
Downtown Bigfork hosts Artisans & Musicians Sat. & Sun. Over 160 arts and craft booths, food, entertainment and children’s activities.
Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival
Aug 10th – 12th
The Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival is an annual celebration of the elusive wild huckleberry. Visitors can enjoy music, kids’ games, raffles and a silent auction, and sample the fruits of the baking contest, locally made huckleberry pies and ice cream.
Chris Hillman, founding member of the Byrds and Herb Pedersen from The Desert Rose Band will be joining us as Artists in Residence for the 2012 workshop and festival and round out this years great line up!
Following the hugely successful sold out 2011 guitar workshop and festival, we want to let you know that Lee Ritenour, Julian Lage, Sonny Landreth, Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, Dennis Koster and Patty Larkin will be joining us as Artists in Residence for this year’s event. www.cocguitarfoundation.org
This week long event includes 6 days of workshops, master classes, playing with professional rhythm sections, jamming, and nightly concerts. Being held at the Flathead Lake Lodge workshop participants and their family members have access to all the lodges’ amenities, plus more. Also available for family members during the week is a watercolor workshop taught by renowned western artist Nancy Cawdrey.
There will be eleven workshops offered in seven guitar genres with leading faculty from the National Guitar Workshop: Jazz featuring Lee Ritenour and Julian Lage, Classic Rock featuring Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, Blues featuring Sonny Landreth, Classical featuring Dennis Koster, Singer-Songwriter featuring Patty Larkin, Acoustic featuring Doug Smith, and Beginners with Susan Mazer. A new course has been added this year for Bass players featuring Melvin Lee Davis and Jorge Roeder.
Jazz pianist and composer, Dave Grusin (recipient of one Academy Award and twelve Grammy Awards) and drummers Sonny Emory and Tupac Mantilla will be special featured artists.
In addition, Lee Ritenour’s 3rd Annual Yamaha Six String Theory International Guitar Competition will be held during the workshop week on August 29th. The six finalists will be awarded a full scholarship to attend the workshop.
This is a unique opportunity to study with the masters and share a passion for guitar with fellow participants in an intimate and personalized setting. All surrounded by our famous western hospitality.
The 2011 workshop was a sell out and the 2012 workshop has limited availability, so early registration is advised! REGISTRATION DISCOUNT! Register by April 30, 2012 and get a $250 discount on the Workshop fee. For more information and to register go to www.cocguitarfoundation.org or call (406) 837-2574.
It looks like Kid’s Rodeo is no longer going to be the biggest competitive event held at Flathead Lake Lodge! Next September the Kalispell Chamber will be hosting the 1st Annual Montana Dragon Boat Races at Flathead Lake Lodge. This is going to be an awesome event for the entire Flathead Valley, and is expected to draw around 3,000 people and 600 competitors! Teams of 20 paddlers will race traditional 46′ Hong Kong dragon boats along the shore of Flathead Lake, just in front of Flathead Lake Lodge. Want to race? Learn more? Or are thinking about attending? Find all the information at: http://montana.racedragonboats.com
We hope to see you all here next September! It is going to be a blast!
For the first time in a long time, Flathead Lake Lodge was still shaking in its boots after a memorable Averill wedding celebration. Chase Averill and Kate Verhey tied the knot on the shores of Flathead Lake, surrounded by the old growth fir trees and family and friends from across the country. It was a 4 days extravaganza filled with the usual FLL favorites like steak fry, barn dance, mouse races and much more. Enjoy the photo’s below, and thanks to everyone who helped pull off this great weekend!
It was pretty cool this morning when Lois Tortorelli, who worked at the Lodge as a 19 year old in 1956 brought in some old FLL artifacts she has kept all these years. Lois and her college friend, who also worked at the Lodge in back in the day have come back the last number of falls to help close out the season. Lois said she bought a round trip ticket on the ‘Empire Builder’ train route from Chicago for $78 dollars. She also said she was the only staff member with a 1/2 day off because she attended church on Sunday mornings. And today’s generation complains about working 5 days a week!
Check out some of the old FLL brochures & the letters between her and Flathead Lake Lodge founder Les Averill about employment! Thanks to Lois for sharing.
Lois & Les Averill’s letters on a summer job in Montana
