GREAT FALLS — Great Falls will host a three-day event next week called the "Big River Ruckus." It runs from Friday, September 10 through Sunday, September 12, and will feature live music; sporting events; walking, hiking,and biking activities; a duck race on the river; puppet shows; and more.
Sheila Rice, one of the event organizers, hopes the inaugural event will become an annual festivity.
"It's pretty well set,” Rice said when asked what, if anything, was still left to be done to get the event ready to go. “I think our biggest role right now is to invite people from out of town to come visit Great Falls, stay at our local hotels, and learn what a great town Great Falls really is.”
Masks and social distancing will be encouraged but will not be required. Click here to visit the website for more information about the scheduled activities.
Here is the full text of the news release:
With generous support of the Tourism Business Improvement District, the Big River Ruckus is three days of fun, food, music, arts and sports. Just the thing that Great Falls needs to come out of the COVID doldrums and host out of town guests, for a three day action-packed activity - all to support the River’s Edge Trail and the Great Falls People’s Park & Recreation Foundation.
From the Riverside Luminaria Walk to the Treadmill Challenge, from Arts on Fire to the Library Puppet Show from Gibson Bandshell to the Main Stage in Riverside Park; the BIG RIVER RUCKUS promises to put Great Falls on the map. Support the Big River Ruckus and get special perks by purchasing lanyard passes: $10 Big Deal pass; $100 VIP pass.
MUSIC
With outdoor stages at Elk’s Riverside Park and Gibson Park, National touring music acts include Ana Popovich, Lil Smokies, Too Slim and the Taildraggers, and Jason Boland and the Stragglers and the Eric Lindell Band; all supplemented by regional and local talent. Regional acts include Laney Lou & the Bird Dogs, Supa Man, the Melissa Lynd Band, and Lucky Valentines. It gets better… General admission to all concerts is free! Come join us in Great Falls to gather live and in person for three days of frolicking fun filled with music, sports, & arts!
SPORTS, ARTS, ACTIVITIES
Tournaments: Pickleball and Disc Golf
Competitions: Mountain biking on world class single-track trails and the Treadmill Challenge at Volta Athletics
Cochrane Dam will be open for cycling across the dam
Ride, Skate, Run, Walk: More than 55 miles of trail along the Missouri River (21 miles paved)
The world-famous annual River’s Edge Trail Luminaria Walk, Arts on Fire at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Imagining Dragons puppet shows, authors’ talks at the Library, the Big Ruckus Duckus Race on the river, and much more! Plus the Harlem Globetrotters are in town on Saturday, 9/11/2021 at 2:00 pm.
The 20th anniversary of 9/11/2001 will be commemorated on the Main Stage in Elks Riverside Park on Saturday morning, 9/11/2021.
- Food Vendor pricing is $100.00 per day. Craft/Other vendor pricing is $50.00 per day. For more information, contact Kellie Pierce at 406-453-6151 or kellie@downtowngreatfalls.net
