BUTTE — A new winter fest is coming to Butte, but this one you can celebrate in the warm confines of places like the Mother Lode Theater and it’s going to be a gumbo of film, music, and culture.
“At a time where it’s kind of the shoulder season in Montana, so people are looking for something to do and we wanted to bring stuff in that's going to build up Butte,” said Director Shera Konen.
The inaugural Northwest 360 Winter Fest will run from Jan. 13 through the 16th.
“We want it to be a festival of entertainment of all types. We want it to be comedy, we want it to be music, and also, we want it to have an educational component beyond these four days,” said Konen.
The festival will include the premieres of 28 films shown at the Mother Lode, Covellite Theater, and the Elks Club. There will be a special 20th Anniversary showing of Napolean Dynamite followed by a Q&A session with some of the stars.
Organizers felt Butte was the perfect location for the festival.
“Butte was the second city I visited last January, and it was first love. I fell in love with Butte right away and I chose Butte and, basically, Butte chose me,” festival CEO Rosalina Lydster said.
They hope this event will draw the film industry to Montana.
“If Montana hasn’t learned by now with the success of Yellowstone and the 1923 being filmed here locally, it brings millions of dollars to the economy. I mean, it is not a flash in the pan,” said Konen.
A schedule of events and tickets can be found at northwest360.com.
