Loon and Fish Festival celebrates local art and culture

SEELEY LAKE - For 23 years Alpine Artisans, Inc. has used their Loon and Fish Festival to offer around 25 Seeley Lake, Ovando and Lincoln artists a space to showcase their work in an organized format. This year AAI Program Manager Jenny Rohrer said she thinks that this year's iteration was "the best festival we've ever had."

"The purpose of the Loon and Fish Festival is to show ... the diversity of artwork of our artists and the variety of work that is being created in our community," she said. "It raises a minimal amount of money for Alpine Artisans [but] we just hope that it raises enough money for our artists to make their participation worthwhile."

Previously the event took place Memorial Day weekend in the Seeley Lake Community Hall. This year they decided to hold it Aug. 20 and 21 in the west wing of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building. She said this location change allowed artwork to be displayed in a much more "elegant surrounding."

Every year the event hosts raffle drawings with a variety of prizes. This year Fern Glass Boyd won a Japanese-style lamp, Jon Jensen won a horseback ride for two with Juanita Vero and Paulette Bolles won a stand up paddleboard.

The festival also holds a Food Bank Soup Bowl Lunch Saturday, Aug. 21 at Mission Bible Church in which bowls and soup are sold to raise funds for the Seeley-Swan Community Food Bank. Rohrer said she does not yet have the total amounts raised for either event. Generally, they raise between $1,000-$1,500 through the lunch. 

Rohrer said based on their sign-in sheet, she believes that they had good attendance from both residents and people passing through the community.

"We just want to thank everybody that came by and hope that they enjoyed themselves," she said.

 

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