Roots Fresh

A gamut of local artists, musicians, brewers and foodies closed down Main Street in downtown Missoula this weekend for the fifth annual River City Roots Festival.

Concessions along Ryman Street fueled those waiting for national headlining acts, like Robert Earl Keen and The Gourds. Local names like the Mike Bader Band and The Broken Valley Roadshow rounded off the rest of the nine groups that plucked out a tune Saturday and Sunday.

Thirty selected artists of various media presented their creations in a juried art show along the street throughout the festival.

Melissa Cole, an acrylics painter, said she likes that a small number of artists were chosen for their variety of media.

"The small venue works very well because in larger shows people seem to get overwhelmed. Here, you don't get that glazed look from people who've seen so much art," Cole said.

Cole's paintings depicted brilliantly embellished trout and other animals familiar to Montana, her home in Spokane, Wash. and those she's observed internationally while traveling with her husband and the Peace Corps.

Proudly displaying his hand-hewn oak Adirondack chairs, Tom the Irishman said the rugged, rural qualities he sees in Montana are reflected in his trade.

"These chairs, in my mind, fit the image of the Northwestern states as places of outdoor recreation and environmental concern," he said.

The rows of tents and booths down Main Street also featured graphite-pencil drawings, jewelry, photography, watercolors, sculpture and textiles.

A record 380 runners looped around Greenough Park Sunday Morning while Broken Valley Roadshow soundchecked on stage by the finish line.

The Children's Fun Festival also sent echoes wafting downriver as kids raced around the activity booths in Caras Park. Small feet stomped to the beat of local youth bands, around the Mismo Gymnastics Course and over to the chocolate-covered fruit concession.

Jessica Daniels, volunteer coordinator for the Fun Fest, said between 2,000 and 3,000 kids participated in the Fest's activities over the weekend.

"That this event joins kids activities with the adult fun is awesome. This way kids know they're part of the community too, not always separated from grownup things," Suzanne Flynn said as she watched her seven-year-old daughter sink her hands in "Oobleck," a white goo made from cornstarch and water.

"Oobleck's a non-newtonian matter, or substance that reacts differently than other fluids," said Jessie Horbert, fest volunteer and Museum Director for spectrUM. "When under direct pressure the ooze acts like a solid, but if you relax your fist full of ooze it will dribble away like a liquid. The kids loved it."

Horbert said she estimated that hundreds of kids tramped through the slime station Saturday.

Beyond musical entertainment and family fun, the Roots Fest partnered with the Sustainable Business Council to keep the festival from eating up energy. It was difficult to miss the recycling and compost bins or the neon-orange reusable beer cups. The electricity for the artists tents was powered by hydrogen fuel and the food vendors were required to use biodegradable cups and plates. In addition, the Missoula Downtown Association purchased renewable energy certificates that offset the power used by the concert stage and traveling bands.

Linda McCarthy, executive director of the Missoula Downtown Association, estimated that by the end of the two-day event some 15,000 people attended.

"Logistically the whole event proceeded without a hitch," McCarthy said.  "We were extremely happy with the attendance and the music selection really knocked us out of the park, this year was the best we've seen."

hannah.ryan@umontana.edu