For the eighth straight year, a lineup of bluegrass giants heats up the Big Sky winter with fast and furious finger picking. Headlined by the Sam Bush Band, Travelin’ McCourys and The Infamous Stringdusters, Big Sky Big Grass is one of the best festivals in the Northwest, says emcee Jason Meyers.
The Big Grass Music Academy, a pet project for show organizer Steve Merlino, is now in its second year of connecting budding musicians with the pros.
Make sure to hit the fest on Saturday night for the Sam Bush Band – Bush is known for inviting all of the weekend’s performers up on stage for one big jam session. bigskybiggrass.com, bigskyresort.com
Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest
February 21-23
Powder hounds love British Columbia for its famed powder snow and laid back vibe, and Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest at Whitewater Ski Resort has been celebrating that fact for eight years now.
“That coupled with the region’s tight community and love of snow sports distinguishes this as one of the premier ski fests in North America,” said Whitewater’s Rebeckah Hornung.
The event spreads attendees out among its 1,184 treed acres and into the surrounding backcountry, Hornung said. Specialized freeride, backcountry and telemark clinics will be available for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities, with celebrity guides including Greg Hill, Eric Pehota and Alison Gannet. coldsmokepowderfest.com
St. Patrick’s Day in Butte, America
March 17
At the turn of the 20th century, Butte had the highest percentage of Irish-Americans of any town in the U.S. – higher even than Boston, with more than a quarter of the population originating from Ireland.
Today, the Emerald Isle’s culture remains prominent, evidenced by the architecture and the Sullivans and Sheas in the phonebook. Butte also boasts one of the country’s rowdiest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, with 30,000 people flooding the city’s pubs and streets.
With its Celtic step dancers, green beer, green hair and corned beef and cabbage, this is one for the bucket list. buttecvb.com
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.