BUTTE — The Montana Folk Festival is just about to begin in Butte—I’ve got my hat, and I’ve got my glasses. What else am I missing?
"I’ve just been trying to hang out in the tents that they’ve been putting up everywhere and drinking lots of water," says Brandi Shipp, a volunteer for the 2024 music festival.
And is she wearing sunscreen?
"No. I’m trying to get as much sun as I can, ok?" says Shipp as she gestures and her friends giggle.
Brandi Shipp is one of hundreds of volunteers working in the heat and sun to set up for the Montana Folk Festival. While she has chosen not to apply sunscreen, caregivers from Intermountain Health say Butte is really close to the sun so adding skin protection is a must this weekend.
"We’re pretty darn close to the sun just because of our elevation, so those rays are getting down to the ground more than they do in a place with a lower elevation," says Jerri Doyle, oncologist service director at Intermountain.
Doyle says skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and sunscreen application is one way to prevent it.
I'm meeting with Doyle in the cancer clinic at the hospital and she's about to show me a piece of technology that will help me see if my application is blocking out all the harmful rays.
When I look into the UV-detecting iPad, everything is a deep purplish blue color. I look a little like a blueberry or a ghost. I came to the hospital without sunscreen on my face but as soon as I start applying a drop of skin protectant, the spot on my face turns a deeper shade of blueberry.
After applying the lotion all over my face I take another look in the iPad. I see I’ve missed a few spots but overall my application is pretty good.
"It’s going to be hot and we want people to be safe but we want them to have fun," says Doyle.
Doyle and her team will be handing out chapstick, sunglasses and sunscreen, as well as little UV patches shaped like hearts and stars that turn purple when you need to reapply sunscreeen.
"I’m putting my sunblock on. I’m wearing my shorts that I cut into shorts this morning—jeans I’ve cut into shorts this morning. Um, lots of water and I always just tell people that I’m cool as a cucumber so I’m actually cool all the time," says Chyenne Baird, another Folk Fest volunteer darting around Uptown Butte on July 11 in preparation for the festival.
You can stop by Intermountain Health's booth at the Original Mineyard—also known as the Main Stage—on Friday night and Saturday during the day to check out your sunscreen application.
