Chamber meets before Homesteader's Days

HOT SPRINGS – The Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce assembled for their final meeting before Homesteader’s Days last Thursday at Fergies on Main Street.

One of the first orders of business covered by the chamber was the completion of an advertising sign on U.S. Highway 93 near Elmo.

The sign, a six-foot by 20-foot advertisement for the town, is on the right side of the highway and is visible to traffic heading down the western side of Flathead Lake, traveling south from Kalispell.

Chamber President Leslee Smith was hopeful the billboard would help attract visitation to Hot Springs during the summer months, noting many tourists traveling through the area are unaware of Hot Springs and the sign will help get the word out about what the town has to offer.

The chamber noted the radio advertising campaign with Anderson Broadcasting of Polson, which included radio ads from local businesses in Hot Springs was a big success and helped to drive traffic to the community.

The advertisements ran on KIBG 100.7, a station based out of Bigfork, which broadcasts to a wide swath of northwestern Montana.

Moving to the approaching Homesteader’s Days festivities, chamber member Rachel Hulce noted the event’s Facebook page had so far attracted 311 likes with a particular interest being shown to the annual rodeo.

“The big thing is the rodeo,” Hulce said.

The Homesteader’s Day rodeo will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 13 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 14.

According to Smith, the posters for Homesteader’s Day are done and around town, and there is an insert available with a schedule of the weekend’s festivities including the rodeo and main street events.

The annual Homesteader’s Day car show will be held at Hot Springs High School with show organizer Dave Campbell stating an anonymous donation of $1,000 helped to keep the annual event going.   Homesteader’s Days will kick off on Friday, June 12, and one of the first events of the annual celebration will be the annual student vs. alumni basketball game at Hot Springs High School.