HELENA — You are in luck if you have ever wanted to be a cowboy, dance hall girl, or blacksmith. Helena's Living History Day will take you back to the Wild West.
"I'm an old West dance hall girl. My name is "Lily Cigar," and I came up with that name when I was about seven years old from a book that I read. I might have been a little too young to read that book at that time," said Melony Bruhn, program director for The Montana Living History Program.
Helena's Living History Day will take you back to multiple eras from the 1830s to the turn of the century.
Melony said, "Museums are wonderful. We have the best in the state right here in Helena, but we also need to pass on those oral traditions and the actual kinesthetic skills to do that."
Skills like blacksmithing and woodworking are something Melony's husband and The Montana Living History Program executive director Tom Bruhn has a passion for sharing.
"Technology is great, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes there's a lot of satisfaction in doing things by hand and getting the reward of it when it is finished," he said.
Over 20 skilled artisans will be teaching trades like fermentation and canning, leather working, or weaving.
A Native American encampment will be set up where people can learn about Indigenous culture.
Melony said, "The Montana mystique is greater than the state itself. Everybody wants to be in Montana at some time or another. Every little kid wants to be a cowboy."
It takes a team of about 90 volunteers and reenactors to put on the one-day event.
Grants fund a large portion of it, along with help from the program members, so the event is entirely free for all who attend.
"What we're doing, I don't think there should be a dollar value on it. We should be passing it along rather than trying to make a dollar off of it," said Tim.
The one-day event runs from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Bear Dance Ranch, with a special reenactment at high noon.
You can find for information about The Montana Living History Program here.
