by sherry devlin
photos by tom bauer and linda thompson

Just when you’d imagine us all heading indoors and out of sight, out comes Missoula for the winter. Bundled from head to toe, babies in tow, bright-eyed and brimming with good cheer.

Winter comes calling with a calendar filled with activities both out-of-doors and in. We offer the smallest of starter lists, hoping to get you up and on your way. For more detailed listings, we suggest going online to Missoulian.com and to Missoula.com, where we provide an ever-refreshed calendar of events.

Photo: The annual Race to the Sky Sled Dog Race is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11. The starting line is a great spot for spectators to get in on the action. LINDA THOMPSON

First Night Missoula

Dec. 31, 2011

Missoula’s First Night celebration continues to gain popularity with a variety of events and activities for kids and adults. TOM BAUER

One year, I wrote a newspaper story about the alpine horn players who brought their king-size instruments to the Florence Hotel lobby for First Night. Another year, I performed at First Night with my fellow ringers from the handbell choir at First United Methodist Church. Yet another, I was honored to be asked to read a favorite poem as part of a presentation at the Missoula Public Library.

Eccentricity – and also singing, dancing, dining, drumming and face-painting – abound at Missoula’s annual New Year’s Eve bash. It’s wholesome and affordable, heartwarming and simple. Hundreds of local folks showing off their talents for thousands more local folks, all intent on spending the changing of the calendar with one another.

Watch the Missoulian for a full listing of First Night festivities; half the fun is traveling from venue to venue, meeting and greeting friends and neighbors and swapping recommendations of must-see performances. First Night also publishes its schedule online at www.missoulacultural.org/firstnight.

My advice: If you’re in town this Dec. 31, grab a copy of the First Night schedule and head downtown. And stay until midnight for the ever-wistful rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.” You’ll start 2012 with a smile.

Seeley Lake Winterfest

Jan. 20-22, 2012

Seeley Lake’s Winterfest blasts off Friday, Jan. 20 with a bonfire to burn discarded Christmas trees. TOM BAUER

What began as a snowmobiling celebration 30 years ago is now an epic wintertime party in one of western Montana’s loveliest burgs, Seeley Lake.

Come spend the weekend at Winterfest 2012 and you will not only enjoy snowmobiling, but cross-country skiing on the Forest Service’s incredible system of trails, a torchlight parade and bonfire, a truly grand snowsculpting competition, a dessertfest and chili-making contest, a biathlon, snowshoeing, ice fishing ... need I continue?

Whether you’re a seasoned winter outdoorsperson or a newcomer, Seeley Lake is the place to embrace the snowy months – even if you just decide to stay inside by the fire at the Double Arrow Lodge. (The Double Arrow, by the way, has great sledding and cross-country skiing just beyond the lodge.)

For a full schedule of events, go online to www.seeleylakechamber.com. Then grab your gear and go!

Race to the Sky

Feb. 10-15, 2012
I covered the Race to the Sky for years, but best remember the times I toted my children along for the day’s assignment.

They loved the wildly out-of-control harnessing of dogs and sleds, and the equally rambunctious arrivals of teams fresh from the trail. I loved the grand vistas of the Whitetail Ranch outside Ovando and the scenes of solitary mushers and dogs crossing the wide expanse of white.

Sled-dog races aren’t easy to watch, with hundreds of trail miles in some of the most remote places in western Montana. But they’re a hoot when you find the right vantage: starts, finishes, rest stops. The folks are fun and friendly, the dogs are alternately sleepy and crazed. The scenery is unmatched.

The 2012 Race to the Sky runs Feb. 10-15, with veterinarian checks and school visits in Butte on Friday, Feb. 11. The first leg starts in Butte and ends at Camp Rimini, just west of Helena, on Saturday, Feb. 12. The teams will then truck to Lincoln for the restart and long race, starting on Sunday, Feb. 13. Junior mushers also start on Sunday in Lincoln. The finish line for all teams is in Seeley Lake; they’ll have covered 350 miles by then.

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Feb. 17-26, 2012

This is the ninth year for Missoula’s wintertime film festival, the premier venue for non-fiction films in the West. Over its 10-day run, the festival presents 100-plus films in the Wilma Theatre, as well as panel discussions, retrospective programs and a Doc Shop featuring a work-in-progress film.

The big news this year, says the festival’s Katrina Shull, is the receipt of a $10,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Pictures to ensure “a massive music presence” during the screenings.

And if you’re a would-be documentary filmmaker – or even a semi-establishment filmmaker – you won’t want to miss the documentary pitch sessions, with guest Diane Weyerman, producer of “Food Inc.” and “Yancy Ford” from the PBS series “P.O.V.”

For the mondo listing of showings, go to www.BigSkyFilmFest.org.

Sherry Devlin is editor of Missoula magazine and the Missoulian. She can be reached at (406) 523-5250 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .