Hot Springs chamber preps for events

HOT SPRINGS – Preparing for the final events of the summer and reflecting upon the season’s earlier events, the town of Hot Springs held its annual chamber of commerce meeting last week.

Representatives of the businesses of Hot Springs came together on Thursday, July 10 and covered a number of topics over the course of the hour-long meeting.

At the monthly meeting the town chamber of commerce focused on the topic of repairing and utilizing a roadside billboard in Elmo.

The sign sits on the side of U.S. Route 93, a major north-south thoroughfare in western Montana, utilized heavily in the summer months by the large number of tourists who frequent the area.

“It is important to take advantage of the sign in Elmo and get it repaired,” Chamber President Leslee Smith said.

The hopes of placing the billboard on the busy roadway are to draw attention to Hot Springs and attract visitors passing through the area on Montana Highway 28.

Multiple members of the chamber of commerce noted there had been some discussion previously of joining with the Plains Chamber of Commerce to create an advertisement highlighting the benefits of Sanders County to tourists.

“We need to do this the best we can, it’s worth it to all the businesses,” Smith said.

Before breaking for adjournment the monthly meeting covered two upcoming events to be featured within Hot Springs.

On July 25 and July 26 the town will host the fifth annual blues festival, which will draw five bands from throughout the region to the town for the weekend.

Soon after the blues festival the New Old Time Chautauqua’s Keep the Faith tour will visit from Sunday, July 27 through Tuesday, July 29.

The multiple day event will conclude with a parade and main performance starting at noon on the Tuesday of the event.

Though the Chautauqua concludes on July 29, some of the performers will stick around for a little longer and assist with the Summer Arts Camp put on by the Sanders County Artists Society.

The arts camp will run from August 5 to August 9.

The monthly meeting started out with a recap of the 65th annual Homesteader Days celebration held June 13 - June 15 throughout the town.

All signs pointed to a successful Homesteader Days and those in attendance were pleased with how the annual festivities turned out.

“We had a really great turnout this year. Even though it was gloomy during the weekend it never really rained,” Smith said.

The chamber president added Main Street; the focal point of the three-day event was more crowded than it had been in years.

Part of this was the sizeable amount of food vendors who turned out for the event.

“There were more vendors than we have had in a really long time,” Smith said.

The other events of Homesteader Days, including the two-day rodeo and the Skunk Alley Run also experienced fair turnouts.

Laurence Walchuk who helped organize the weekend rodeo said comparative to last year’s numbers attendance was up on Saturday but down slightly on Sunday.

However, the early morning running event received a notable boost in participation.

“The Skunk Alley Run was way up in attendance,” Walchuk said.

The Hot Springs chamber will hold its next meeting on the second Thursday of August.