Thursday, April 30, 2009

This Weekend in Billings

If you do a search on the event calendar of Billings365.com and set a start date of 5/1 and end date of 5/3, it's pretty amazing to see how much we've got going on in this town!

First of all, MSUB Graduation is at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark this Saturday. A Big Congrats out to all of the grads!

MetraPark's also got the Sustainable Living Expo in the Montana Pavilion on Saturday and Sunday. If you want to learn more about incorporating sustainable living into your life, then this is the place to be--learn about recycling, sustainable foods, home products and more. There'll be learning and activities for everyone. Zoo Montana will even have live animals at this event.

Any ladies who own or want to own a Harley out there? If so, then you'll want to get out to Beartooth Harley Davidson Buell for the Women's Only Garage Party on Friday at 6:30pm. Learn how you can find more time to ride with an interactive seminar by Genevieve Schmitt.

Cabaret opens on Friday at Venture Theatre. You can catch showings on Friday thru Sunday this weekend. I've got plans to check this out next week with some friends. And Footloose is playing at the Alberta Bair Theater. This sounds like fun too.

The Billings Motorcycle Club's season is off to a start with Spring Classic Motocross on Sunday out at the BMC grounds.

There's lots of fun stuff going on with Nightlife this weekend too! Cinco de Mayo parties begin: You can catch the Clinton's at Santa Fe Red's on Saturday and Hooligan's will also be hosting a Cinco de Mayo Party on Saturday. The 7th Avenue Band plays Bugz's Casino on Friday and Saturday Night. On Friday Night at Bugz's, I hear there's a chance to win Jimmy Buffet Tix from My92.5. The Railyard's got live music on Friday Night: Murder by Death (not a metal band like you might expect) and 1090 Club.

You'll have to check the website for more because there's just too much to list it all here. No one should be bored this weekend, there's plenty to do!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Get Together & Give at Rimrock Mall

So, Rimrock Mall and St. Vincent Healthcare have come up with a fun way to volunteer. On May 7th, mothers and daughters or groups of friends are invited to get together at Rimrock Mall to help assemble 400 care kits for women for when they leave the womens and family shelter.

From the listing on the mall website: "While doing good, participants will have a good time, with a wide range of fun events planned including great food, drinks, a guest speaker and shopping discounts!"

What a great way to get together with friends while doing something good for our community. I've signed up myself and 3 of my friends already: attention: Holly, Katie, and Cathy, you'll be doing this with me!

The event begins at 6:30 PM. Register to Volunteer on the Rimrock Mall Website: www.rimrockmall.com.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Taproot Impress at FOE!

Had a great weekend at the FOE. I went to the concert with 3 friends. The Bands included Sonic Crown, Adakain, Dear Enemy and Taproot.

Sonic Crown opened things up. They are a local band from Bilings, MT. They were quite impressive. They lacked polish that the other bands possessed but had great energy and I enjoyed them. I am sure they enjoy my expertise (or lack thereof) in the music industry saying that they need to polish their sound. Come on right? I did “friend them” on MySpace, so it’s not all bad. Go check them out.

AdaKaiN was next. This was more my style a combination of scream rock and melody. For some reason these guys impressed me. They opened up with a lot of energy and I enjoyed their sound. The song that stuck out for me was “The Only One”.

Dear Enemy was also very impressive. A few my friends were really impressed with this band. Their live show was the best of the three non headliner bands. Their interaction was great. Additionally, after their show they came out in the crowd to talk (or sell their albums); but still they were very approachable. Check them out on MySpace. “Falling Down” was the song that stuck with me.

Taproot was far and away the most impressive (but then again they were the headliner). They were exactly what I expected. I even got a little out of control made my way into the pit for a while. I got stuck up in the front for the last 30 minutes. I really like Taproots sound; they have something for everybody (very hard, radio hits, they have it all). “I” was my favorite song of the night, but they finished off with “Poem” appropriately.

The night was great, I probably had TOO much to drink and let loose; but definitely had a BLAST at the FOE. I hung out with great friends which probably made the night better.

Sonic Crown will be at The Railyard – Cinco De Mayo Bash as well May 5th; go support the local acts.



Sunday, April 26, 2009

Fudd Fries, Shopping, and a Movie. A pretty good Saturday.

This weekend Dustin and I had good friends in town--our friend Ryan from Baker and Jace and Amie from Bozeman.  The guys had plans to take in the Taproot show at the FOE Saturday Night and watch the draft that afternoon.

We all started out with lunch at good old Fuddruckers.  I know Fuddruckers is known for their burgers but for me it's all about the Fudd Fries with Nacho Cheese...good stuff.

Next on the agenda, the NFL Draft.  I will never understand how anyone can endure watching the entire draft.  My attention span is far too short.  But Dustin and his friends are all about it. They've got their notepads there full of names circled and crossed out and they compete to see who can predict the most picks all the while strategizing about who their team's ought to be picking.

Amie and I decided an afternoon of shopping sounded much better.  I was in need of new couch pillows and Amie needed a few things for their baby room.  World Market, Target and Hobby Lobby proved to have some good finds.  

Our night topped off with a movie while the guys went to the FOE.  We decided to go to the Soloist.  Amie had seen the 60 minutes special on the true story behind the movie.  I had heard about it and thought the movie looked interesting.  In all honesty, it fell a little flat for me.  Although, I think that's what happens when movies are a little bit over-hyped.  It was good just not great.  But a nice way to spend the evening nonetheless.

Dustin said the show at the FOE was really good, but he'll have to tell you more about that.  All in All, it was a pretty nice Saturday with friends. 


Friday, April 24, 2009

Taproot -- FOE (4/25/09)

Get to the legendary FOE! Tomorrow night! I have never been to the FOE, but what the heck, I am going to give it a go and let you know how it is. The tickets were actually pretty cheap $15/per. The opening acts appear to be be decent for no names(Adakain, Dear Enemy), I haven't heard of them (some of their stuff sounds OK). I am a HUGE fan of Taproot. I hope to see you all there.







Wednesday, April 22, 2009

We've Launched!

Billings365.com has launched. We are so excited to see this day come. Billings365.com will strive to be your source for finding "Things to Do" in Billings, MT. We hope that you will find the site useful. You'll be able to look up Billings Events including Nightlife, Sports & Rec, Music & Entertainment, and more! Our Directory will feature great restaurants, attractions, shopping opportunities, and other businesses that help make Billings the great town it is.

So why did I start the site? Well, I grew up in Baker, MT--a small town way in the southeast corner of the state. Growing up, Billings really was the "Big" city. When we visited Billings it was a treat. We would go to the mall, go out to eat, and maybe catch a movie. When my husband and I moved here after college in Bozeman, I still loved all of those things about Billings but also wanted to find out what was authentic and inherently local about Billings. I felt like it was not always so easy to find out what was going on in town, where you could catch live music on the weekend, or just find something to do in general.

What I have discovered after living here for almost 5 years now (hard to believe it has been that long already) is that Billings is a community with a great quality of life. From the public parks and other nearby outdoor recreational opportunities, the many cultural organizations (theaters, museums, etc.), and the various businesses that make up our community, we really do have a lot to offer. I hate when I hear people say, "There's nothing to do in Billings". I really think that if you feel that way, you probably aren't trying hard enough to find something to do. We've got live music in various venues several nights a week, live theater and other cultural events nearly every week, Big events at MetraPark and Alberta Bair on a regular basis and so much more. I hope that this site will help bring together all of the assets of Billings and will help people seek out and support our local businesses and local events. I believe that support will help us to continue to build a thriving community.