- Arts - there's no doubt about it, Missoula is a great place for the Arts, and the quality is surprisingly high for a small town in the middle of nowhere...
- Missoula Art Museum (MAM) - a first class art museum, with a great selection of Native American art)
- Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) - the largest children's theatre in the world, and they do a stellar job with adult productions as well
- Missoula Symphony - a great little symphony, with a brand new conductor
- Breweries and pubs - there's no doubt about it, we have a soft spot for the Kettlehouse and Sean Kelly's, not just because they're great places to get a good beer, but because they're great places to hang out with friends and build relationships.
- Coffee shops - Missoula is home to some remarkable places to get your daily fix. Here's a handy dandy list of our favorite spots...
- Community & culture - (more info on a lot of these at the Missoula Downtown Association)
- First Fridays - the first friday night of every month downtown businesses host the work of local artists. Take a stroll around downtown and enjoy!
- Farmer's Market(s) - there are two, actually: the Clark Fork River Market (in Caras Park, by the fish scultures), and then the Missoula Farmers' Market (at the north end of Higgins by the train tracks).
- Out to Lunch in Caras Park - where else does an entire community get together on Wednesdays for lunch?
- Garden City Brewfest - second Saturday of May, downtown in Caras Park (you really don't want to miss this)
- Missoula Carousel - a favorite for kids of all ages, located downtown in Caras Park
- Non-profits worth supporting - Did you know that Missoula is the home to the largest number of non-profits per capita of any city in the nation? Wow! Of course, there's no way we can list them all here. Instead, we'll just share some of our favorites (and we know folks in almost all of these - we'd highly recommend them to anyone looking to volunteer in the community)...
- Free Cycles - a community bike shop, where you can get help fixing your bike or building a new one. Cool.
- The Poverello Center - a great organization that provides food and shelter for the homeless in Missoula.
- YWCA - these folks do a lot to help women in crisis.
- Youth Homes - similar to the above, but with an emphasis on kids (emergency shelter, group homes, foster care - these guys have been here for the long haul).
- 1st Way - a great organization serving women with unplanned pregnancies (they pregnancy tests, ultrasound, and can help women understand their options)
- Garden City Harvest - they run community gardens throughout the city
- Clark Fork River Cleanup - an annual earth day celebration where 300+ folks turn out to clean up the river.
- Hellgate Hunters & Anglers - a local grassroots chapter of the National Wildlife Federation, these guys work hard to restore wildlife habitat and promote conservation
- Sustainable Business Council - an organization dedicated to helping businesses in Missoula buy local to promote a sustainable economy.
- News and events - anyone who has lived here will tell you that one of the hardest things about Missoula is keeping up with everything that is going on. Here's how we try to cope...
- The Independent - Missoula's alternative newspaper (which is pretty darn mainstream, when you consider how many people read it). Great insight into some of the fascinating people that give Missoula its character...
- New West Missoula - a great online site for news and views of all things Missoula
- Missoula Events - a weekly calendar of what's going on here in the Garden City
Thursday, May 31, 2007
What's to Love About Missoula
As we get to know Missoula, there are a number things we've come to love about this city. We figured you might enjoy them too. (This list is by no means exhaustive, but if you're new to our community, these might be good places to start. And if you see something you think we've missed, please let us know about it...)
