On April 30th, “Orwell Rolls in His Grave” closes out Montana Women For’s screening of films. 7:00 Pm in the Community Room at Livingston’s Public Library.

We have a full house of films around town!

Filed under: Film/Video | Add Comment »

I’m just posting the PCFA Press Release on this, but will add a couple of notes. This year’s festival looks very different from the PCFA’s previous film fests. The festival wasn’t held last year, but in previous years, it showed films that enjoyed larger theatrical releases, albeit on the edgier side. I like the “Rural Route” emphasis on small films and the rural theme. And I’m thrilled about the new location for the festival: the Elks Lodge auditorium, with its community feel. Check out the PCFA Web site for details about the film offerings and to see the excellent local sponsors of this event. Some of the evening showings include a group of short films, making for a 16-film festival.

Rural Route Film Festival
May 1, 2 & 3 at the Elks Lodge in Livingston

The Danforth will present a new kind of film series this spring by hosting the “Rural Route Film Festival” May 1 – 3, 2008. The “Rural Route Film Festival” was created to highlight works that deal with rural people and places around the globe.

Founded in 2002, the New York City-based festival is the brainchild of two independent filmmakers from Iowa who became friends after moving to the Big Apple and missed the slower, simpler life of the Midwest. After the main event in New York, each year, the festival takes highlights from its program and tours them around the United States and other countries, giving communities—both rural and urban—a chance to view the latest submissions.

While the term “rural” relates to the country, people living in the country, or to farming, according to Webster’s Dictionary, the programmers of the Rural Route Film Festival leave it to the film and video artists to find their own definition of “rural.” Whether it’s a documentary about an organic turnip farm in West Virginia, a fictional backpacking drama set in Peru, a personal/experimental work, or an examination of life and love in a small town, the Rural Route Film Festival wants to see and hear what these artists have to say.

“By bringing the Rural Route Festival to Livingston, our community gets the chance to see world-class films that typically bypass smaller towns,” said Brad Bunkers, board member for PCFA. “In a rural town like Livingston, the eclectic themes of these films should resonate with the locals.

In addition to sponsoring the festival, the Danforth Gallery and the Park County Friends of the Arts, have reached out to local organic and sustainability experts to host a “Go Organic” panel discussion before Saturday’s screening. Bunkers encourages those interested in the panel to “come early to ask questions and learn more about organics in our back yard.” The discussion panel starts at 6:00 pm on Saturday.

All films will be screened at 7:00 p.m., at the Elks Lodge, located at 130 S. 2nd Street. This location is a new one for events sponsored by the Danforth, which usually screens films at the Empire Theater. “We wanted to mix it up and concentrate our efforts to bring a more thematic festival to town,” explained Bunkers. “We hope to generate a lot of cinematic buzz by showing 16 films over three nights. We have amazing community support this year, our downtown businesses have really stepped up to help us bring this festival to Livingston.”

Ticket prices for the event are $20 for a 3-Day Pass; $8.00/night for General Admission; and $6/night for PCFA Members. There are no advance ticket sales. For more information and a complete listing of films, check the PCFA website at www.pcfadanforth.org.

Filed under: Film/Video | Add Comment »

Musicians Keith Lawrie, Bingo Mielke, Matt McCool, Jerry Mullen, Libby Caldwell, Scott Boehler, Don Corbo, otherwise known as The Blokes, are taking their music on the road in “The Blokes’ Highway 89 Road Tour: Put A Light in Every Country Window.”

You can join them as they drive and play from Gardiner to Wilsall and on to Big Timber, with stops along the way, this coming weekend May 3 and May 4.

SATURDAY, May 3: The Blokes and a bus load of ticket holders depart from the Livingston Bar & Grille at 10:00 AM with plans to be at the Blue Goose in Gardiner by 12:00 noon. After the Blue Goose gig, the band and the bus head north for Livingston again with stops at the Chico Saloon, Old Saloon in Emigrant, Pine Creek Lodge, the Buffalo Jump, and the Livingston Bar & Grille. The Blokes will play for about a half hour at each venue. Allowing time for set up and take down, the band ought to be back in Livingston between 6:00 and 7:00 PM.

SUNDAY, May 4: Departing again from the Livingston Bar & Grille at 10:00 AM, the Blokes and entourage continue the tour up Highway 89 arriving at the Bank Bar in Wilsall by noon and heading on to the Mint Bar in Martinsdale, the Two Dot Bar, and The Grand in Big Timber. They’ll return to Livingston between 6:00 and 7:00 PM.

You can get a ticket to ride along on the bus, or follow along/meet them at various stops in your own vehicle (no charge, but you’re on your own for meals). A $68 ticket gets you a seat on the bus and lunch each day.
Saturday lunch is chicken pasta, salad and bread by Pedalino’s. Sunday lunch is soup and salad at the Bank Bar. The ticket price even includes tips for the bus driver and lunch servers. Bar drinks and bartender tips aren’t included, and you can bring your own beverages of any kind as well as and munchies on board the bus.

The bus holds 29 people, and if there are seats left you can reserve them by getting a check or cash to Brant Robey, Bingo or Glenn the bartender at the Livingston bar & Grille. Join the tour with your own vehicle if the bus is full.

In true band road trip style, The Blokes are also offering silk-screened, pigment-dyed tee shirt souvenirs of the tour, to be available by the ride, or perhaps sooner. If you want one of these, just add the shirt cost to the $68 per person. Tee shirts are short sleeve ($14) or long sleeve ($20) in either Scotland blue (grayish) or spring olive. The front of the shirt will have The Blokes logo, and the back will carry the name of the tour, “Put A Light In Every Country Window — Highway 89 Tour,” and a listing of the bar stops. [Note: here is what is left as of today in the tees inventory–large and extra large only in the short sleeve, 1 olive large long sleeve, and 3 XL blue long sleeve.]

If you have any questions, contact Brant Robey at 222-5971.

This looks like a winner. ArtsMontana.com will hit some of the bar stops to cover this delightful and unique event and enjoy the music.

Filed under: Music/Musicians, Events/Shows | Add Comment »

I admit I am only interested in the movie because it was shot right here in Livingston (and Bozeman, too), but I thought I’d offer a link to former Livingston resident Penny Ronning’s blog post about the movie (Penny was involved in the production), and the LA Times review link for those who need help deciding whether to go see it.

I confess that I want to run screaming when certain keywords appear in the description of a movie. In this case, “Henry Winker” and “puppet” pretty much spell the end. But I’ll see it anyway because there seem to be a lot of recognizable Livingston settings. How’s that for provincial? (Also Hugh Jackman is in it. If he’s in it for more than, like, 10 minutes that might just cancel out the puppet.)

UPDATE 4/29: I’m seeing fairly favorable reviews and positive viewer comments like Theresa’s below. So I am encouraged that the film might offer more than hometown thrills. It’s interesting how the low-level of pre-movie hype played out with “Plumm Summer”; there were few of those graded reviews you see on movie Web sites last week than there are this week. And a number of those give the film decent grades. I wonder if the movie’s pre-Internet/iPod/cell phone concerns, and cynicism like my own, had soemthing to do with it. In any case, I would love it if someone who has seen the film here in Livingston would review it, even if briefly and informally.

Filed under: Film/Video | 4 Comments »

I’ve been excited about David Swanson’s new series of railroad paintings since my first glimpse of the work in his studio last summer. The show that I have been waiting for opens at The Ecce Gallery at the Emerson Center in Bozeman this Thursday, April 10, 2008. The opening reception from 6 to 8 PM will also include a railroad poetry reading by Nate Robinson, music by Lonesome Dave and Bill Devine, and hors d’oeuvres, wine, and beer from The Emerson Grill.

The show will hang through May 15, 2008 and includes a series of new paintings that Swanson has been working on since he returned to school to get his Fine Arts degree a couple of years ago at MSU. Swanson studied and photographed the trainmen working at the Livingston locomotive yards, and then returned to his studio to create a series of paintings capturing “man and machine.”

For more about David and these exciting new paintings, visit davidswansonart.com. The Emerson Cultural Center is at 111 S Grand Ave, Bozeman.

Above right: “Night Inspection,” Oil on canvas, 40″ by 30″. © 2007, David Swanson.)

Filed under: Art(s) News, Events/Shows | Add Comment »