Variety is the spice of life at Whitefish’s 23rd Annual Huckleberry Days Art Festival, according to organizer Sarah Stewart, and artists are already getting ready. The free event is from Aug. 10 to 12 and features art vendors, a huckleberry dessert bake-off and live music at Depot Park.
“We’ve got everything: jewelry, patio furniture, home décor and lawn garden ornaments,” Stewart said. “It’s just a wide variety of handcrafted art.”
Nearly 100 vendors from across the northwestern United States and the Flathead Valley are expected to attend and Stewart said the event attracts nearly 3,000 people. For the first time ever, Huckleberry Days will include a community entertainment showcase and Stewart is welcoming locals to take to the stage, even if they have never performed before in front of a crowd. Some local talent will include hula dancing from Halau Ka Waikahe Lani Malie, musicians from the North Valley Music School and the Flathead Valleyaires. The performers will use the same stage set up for the Great Northern Brewing Company’s summer concerts on Aug. 4 and 5.
But the real stars of Huckleberry Days are still the local artists who will be selling their work, some for the first time ever, like Kalispell’s Floyd Bechtold of MC&H Rockers.
Bechtold has been making wooden rocking horses and motorcycles for nearly 15 years as a hobby and this year he decided to get a booth at the festival. While most people have seen a rocking horse, a rocking motorcycle may be a new concept, but Bechtold said they’re popular with young boys.
“The motorcycles catch more people’s eyes because you don’t see it as much and it’s just really detailed,” he said.
Unlike Bechtold, Susan Young of Sue Lou Glass Art is a regular at Huckleberry Days and said the annual festival is one of her most profitable events. Young began making glass art eight years ago when her mother was getting rid of an old fire kiln.
“I saw it on TV, got some books and just went for it,” she said.
Young creates a wide assortment of items, including plates and bowls, using a process called “fusing glass.” With a bandsaw, Young cuts various shapes out of colored glass and places them on a clear piece of glass. Then, she places the glass in a kiln heated to 1,500 degrees, where the glass fuses together.
Most of Young’s pieces sell for $60 to $100 and she said the festival attracts people who are serious about buying art as well as the general public.
“It’s just a great opportunity for our customers to enjoy some music and get some food,” Young said. “It’s just a great get together.”
The 23rd Annual Huckleberry Days takes place from Aug. 10 to 12 at Depot Park. For a complete listing of events, visit www.whitefishchamber.org or call (406) 862-3501.