Entertainment

We are at the end of the Spring sports season as the final games, matches and meets take place before the postseason begins. Here is what Butte High and Butte Central have on tap.

Thirty years ago, Butte was still learning how to deal with the economic and social fallout that came with the fall of the Anaconda Company. A once bustling mining boomtown whose population had been well over 100,000 early in the twentieth century, by the 1990s it had fallen to just over 30,000. With the decline in population came urban blight. Many Uptown buildings, which once housed stores, offices and apartments were abandoned and lay dormant. The warehouse district was no exception. Right in the heart of the district is the once-bustling Great Northern Depot which was a hub of railway travel in Montana. For years it sat abandoned, although many would talk about the building's potential. But nobody took action. Until the Fisher Family came into the picture.

Over the past couple of decades, we have seen Butte flourish into one of the most fan-friendly festival cities in the Northwest. Anyone who doubts this need just attend a single event at the Montana Folk Festival, which will be coming up here in just a few short weeks. Shoot, you only need look back a few weeks to see the turnout for the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration to see what kind of a party Butte is capable of throwing. But there's one festival that is relatively new, but one that started out big and has only continued to grow. And I'm talking about Brawls and Kickstart Days.

Here in Montana, we are definitely in the heart of beef country and with that comes a certain quality. A quality you take for granted. There have been a couple of instances where I have had the good fortune of visiting a couple of higher-end steakhouses in big cities and have usually walked away thinking "it's good, but not as good as back home". Now I'm not saying by any means that these weren't delicious steaks. I'm just saying that some of the best steaks in the world can be found right here in Butte. Here are a few places that I believe have the best steaks in town. In fact, I'll put any one of these four places up against anyone in the world.

Let's just say that if you like to watch softball, you're going to be in heaven in the days leading up to Mothers' Day 2024 as the Butte Central Maroons host the annual Laverne Combo Invitational next Friday and Saturday, May 10th and 11th. 5 fields will be used as 26 Montana high school softball teams from all over the state compete in a total of 48 games.

Live music with one of Butte's hottest new bands on Friday will kick off a weekend of great tunes and a couple of hearty breakfasts at the Butte Elks Lodge at 206 W. Galena Street.

The Frontier Conference Track and Field Championships will be held in Butte, Mont. on May 5th and 6th. This will be the first time the Championships will be contested in the Mining City.

After a soggy weekend, Butte High and Butte Central look to get back on track for the last few remaining dates of the spring sports season. This week's schedule features a makeup date for City Championship Baseball and Senior Parent's Night for a couple of other local teams. Here is what the Bulldogs and Maroons have on their sports schedule for this wee

Yeah, this is going to be a big night. Of course, any time Monty Klistoff and NXT Gen Entertainment are behind the show, you know that things are going to get crazy. Klistoff, as you probably remember, is the man behind the bare-knuckle boxing events that have kicked off the last 2 summers at their "Brawls and Kickstart Days" at the Butte Depot, Klistoff's indoor productions might even be more impressive. The first Fight Kingdom event was impressive and exciting, the crowd was boisterous, and the lighting and sound practically made you feel as if you were on the Las Vegas Strip. Saturday's is expected to be even better.

The An Ri Ra Montana Irish Festival is coming up on a milestone this summer. The weekend of August 9th through the 11th will be the festival's 20th year in the Mining City and organizers are expecting the best festival to date. In February, organizers announced the headlining performers for this years festival at the Original Mineyard and attendees are in for a treat as The Elders, Altan, The Spain Brothers and the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance will be this year's headliners.