August is the month I moved to Bozeman, and this August is the month I celebrate having lived here for thirty years. When I made the decision to attend Montana State University and move from the Mission Valley, Flathead Reservation, and many friends in Missoula, Montana to a place I had visited once for orientation I never dreamt it would be my new home for three decades and the births of three amazing children. I also never dreamt that my mom would die just two years after moving here, that I would change my major several times or even that I would complete an art degree at MSU. I did not however surprise myself be starting a business and being a strong advocate for our Montana way of life, and moreover our community. I do that in many ways, the most obvious is by creating Bozeman Magazine every month for the past eighteen years as a community resource, and powered by the largest events calendar in the state meant to bring us together at events that are fun, active, creative, informative, and that allow us to find likeminded people.

Maybe you relate to the way I grew up, in a small town where I knew my neighbors and could call on them to help repair whatever needed repairing, babysit my parents friends kids all at once when they had a big event to attend, bottle feed baby cows, attend church and youth group every week, and look forward to the one weekend a year that we all celebrated our history and community at “Good Ol’ Days” with a parade, and art market, outdoor theatre performance and street dance. Bozeman is not that small town, but I’ve held my Montana values close every year I’ve lived here, been a good neighbor, looked out for my friends and their families, fed their pets when they are away, decided for myself what I believe in, and looked forward to annual events that celebrate our unique culture. Bozeman’s art and culture events are big and bold, but have the same mission as any small town event, they are designed to bring us together, Bozeman knows them as the Sweet Pea Festival and SLAM, and they both happen the first weekend every August in neighboring parks and in downtown Bozeman.

As I do every month of the year, I encourage you to Support Local Artists and Musicians (SLAM) by attending any event you find in the Greater Yellowstone Events Calendar. Events that peaks your interest and brings you closer to the people and places that have built Bozeman into what it is today, a vibrant hub of art and culture, a beacon of goodness, and a place that isn’t like any other. I also encourage you to keep it that way by being good to those you meet along the way, and valuing the precious resources we can never get back once destroyed.