From coffee to cocktail hour, events include workouts, State of the Community, volunteer gigs and a gathering at Len Hill Park
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
Big Sky Community Week begins on Monday, Oct. 7, with a week full of events intended to connect, educate and involve the community.
Events include free workout classes at BASE, four ribbon cutting ceremonies, cocktail and coffee hours, after-school art classes for kids, community forums, and the bi-annual Madison-Gallatin Joint County Commission meeting. The full schedule is posted online by the week’s co-hosts, the Big Sky Resort Area District and Big Sky Chamber of Commerce.
“There’s something for everyone,” said BSRAD Deputy Director Jenny Christensen, née Muscat. “All ages, all backgrounds. It’s free and open to the public, we encourage everyone to bring a friend, bring a colleague, bring a family member.”
This will be Big Sky’s third Community Week. It began in 2021 as a one-night “CommUNITY Forum and Expo,” but expanded into a full week in 2022 and has since evolved to include fun and family-friendly activities to go along with heavier topics.
“We had heard some feedback about mixing in some kids things… [and] trying to do some fun things as well as the heavy topics of what’s going on around town,” said Liz McFadden, VP of Visit Big Sky, the chamber’s destination marketing arm.
It is an election year, and Vote Big Sky will take place on Monday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at The Wilson Hotel, encouraging voters to learn more about the candidates and issues on their November ballot.
Ribbon cutting ceremonies for public infrastructure will be held Monday through Thursday: the Big Sky Fire Department’s new training facility on Monday, including a live fire demonstration and barbecue; the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District’s new Water Resource Recovery Facility on Tuesday; the completion of TIGER grant work and a pedestrian tunnel on Wednesday; and Big Sky’s new USPS post office on Thursday.
Friday will be dedicated to volunteerism—six volunteer opportunities are available throughout the day, plus a blood drive and the Big Sky Community Food Bank’s beloved fall food drive, the Great Pumpkin Giveaway. Organizers will collect food donations at every event, with the goal of beating last year’s total: 100 pounds of food.
“We’re just trying to rally behind the food bank and donations, going into shoulder season,” Christensen said.
Christensen added excitement for the blood drive in partnership with Big Sky Medical Center, on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. “It’s just something new, and I think it’s a cool and different way for community members to get involved and give back.”
Event spotlights: State of the Community, Community Appreciation Celebration, free workouts
On Oct. 8, the State of the Community will assemble community leaders onstage to discuss community issues. During last year’s Community Week, the event packed the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center for five panels discussing community priorities.
Christensen said it depends on the person, but this is probably the can’t-miss event of 2024.
“It’s a quick-hit, high overview from 10 to 15 panelists. You will learn a little about a lot—it’s the best bang for your buck, I’d say,” she said.
McFadden is excited to see new organizations represented in State of the Community, including nonprofits Big Sky OUT and World Language Initiative.
“The Community Appreciation Celebration on Thursday is always fun,” McFadden added. “You can bring your family and it’s just a good time for the whole community, from kids to adults.”
Free ice cream and snacks will be served.
BASE will host a series of free daily workouts, including Pilates, full-body conditioning, restorative yoga, Zumba, yoga flow and kickboxing. All classes are free but require a BASE waiver, available from the schedule online.
The goal of Community Week is to involve people who aren’t always following along with community organizations and efforts, McFadden said.
“Just meeting new people and learning about things that they didn’t necessarily know are happening in Big Sky,” McFadden said.
Celebrating Ron Edwards’ ‘Biggest and Greatest Project’
On Tuesday from 12 to 2 p.m., the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting for its new WRRF. A massive investment in local infrastructure, the plant also signifies a change in leadership.
Ron Edwards, longtime GM, has been calling it “the biggest and greatest project” of his entire career, and in the district’s history. Beyond the $50 million cost, it’s also the longest planning horizon the district has ever had, beginning in 2017 and reaching completion in December 2024.
“Got through it. Couldn’t do it without Resort Tax, it would be too expensive,” Edwards told EBS. Back in 2020, the community voted to enact the additional “1% for infrastructure” resort tax, which funded more than half of the WRRF construction.
Edwards added, “What they’re building will take care of Big Sky for a long time, I think…The quality of that plant, the size of it, it honestly is one of the best plants in the whole state right now.”
Workers will be stationed around the plant to assist with self-guided tours during the Community Week event.
“The plant is functional, it’s not complete yet, but the bigger portion that everybody has been waiting for is up and running,” said new GM Johnny O’Connor. O’Connor hopes the community will stop by during Community Week to learn about the district’s commitment to protecting surface water and public health in Big Sky, a community that fully reuses its treated water.
While there are other ribbon cutting events for Community Week, all of them important, the water and sewer district’s gathering will represent not only “the biggest and greatest project,” but also an appreciative farewell to a community leader.
Edwards will retire on Dec. 20, finishing a 29-year career leading Big Sky’s water and sewer district. He has long viewed the completion of the project as his cue to retire, and O’Connor said this grand opening will signify the final steps of the executive transition.
