BobFest Celebration to Showcase Wilderness Stewardship
The annual year-end fundraising event for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation will be Oct. 25 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Flathead County Fairgrounds
By Beacon Staff
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation (BMWF) is hosting its annual gala this Friday featuring an evening of live and silent auctions, dinner, live music by The Pack Strings and a meet-and-greet with some local pack mules.
BobFest will take place on Oct. 25 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Flathead County Fairgrounds Expo Building in Kalispell.
As the nonprofit’s annual fundraising event, ticket proceeds and silent auction funds will be funneled toward the foundation’s trail maintenance, stewardship work and education programs across Montana’s 1.6-million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
The BMWF has in recent years been building out its programming and expanding its reach, with new programs designed to reduce barriers for underserved demographics, tap into larger gateway communities and rethink how future generations should be thinking about and engaging in stewardship activities.
New this year, sponsor tables will be available with two VIP levels, including a $1,000 eight-top round table reservation with eight tickets and 40 raffle tickets. The $2,500 reservation also includes 16 drink tickets, a charcuterie appetizer and dessert.
Door tickets will include a baked potato and chili bar dinner by Chef Chris DiMaio of Montana Craft Kitchen, dessert provided by Ceres Bakery and beer from Sacred Waters Brewing Company at a no-host bar.
The silent and live auctions will feature an array of items: art, outdoor gear, wilderness adventures and getaways, and local handcrafted goods. All proceeds raised from the evening will support the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation’s work to open trails, restore habitat, and provide wilderness education next summer in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
BobFest will also feature some special four-legged guests: a few of the mules who carry in gear and supplies for the foundation’s volunteer crews will be out front for guests to meet. There will be manty-wrapping demonstrations and competitions, as well as a crosscut-saw competition for the chance to win prizes and there will be a kids’ corner filled with activities and games for the younger generation of wilderness lovers.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex celebrates its 60th anniversary this year after the Wilderness Act was signed into law Sept. 3, 1964, a designation that protects 3.5 million acres in Montana. It created the first formal mechanism for designating wilderness areas under the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Tickets are $40 for adults; children aged 10 and under are free. Learn more and get your tickets at bmwf.org/bobfest.