If you're looking for something fun to do on Friday and/or Saturday in Great Falls - you have choices!
Vendors and shoppers are preparing for the first day of the 2025 season of the Great Falls Farmer’s Market, which will be on Saturday, June 7th. There will be scores of vendors offering crafts, food, and more, along with live music.
It takes place in and around Civic Center Park in downtown Great Falls, between Central Avenue and 1st Avenue South. The market will be open every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. through the last Saturday of September.
From the website: "Established in 1982, The Great Falls Original Farmers' Market is a non-profit organization based in Great Falls, Montana. With the mission, 'Growing Commerce through Community,' the market is managed through a board of advisors and community input."
Families can kick off their summer of outdoor activities by attending the Great Falls Family Fishing Day scheduled for Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Wadsworth Pond Park in Great Falls.
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks said in a news release that the event is typically the largest fishing clinic in the state and features a series of short educational stations on fish identification, knot tying, casting, and fly tying, followed by open fishing in Wadsworth Pond for all who attend.
Youth who take part and complete all education stations are eligible for free fishing tackle donated by the Great Falls Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited (limited supplies).
After the event ends, youth and adults may stay at the pond and continue to fish until sunset on June 7 without a fishing license, as a condition of the educational license exemption provided for the event by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Family Fishing Day is a cooperative effort to teach basic fishing skills and encourage community participation in the outdoors with volunteers from Montana Walleyes Unlimited, Montana Trout Unlimited, Sun River Watershed Group, City of Great Falls Parks and Recreation Department, Republic Services of Great Falls, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
The event may be cancelled or scaled back in the event of inclement weather; check the FWP Facebook page for any updates.
Great Falls Park & Recreation and the Gibson Park Snack Shack will show the first “Movie in the Park” of the 2025 season on Friday, June 6 (weather permitting).
The movie is "The Wild Robot," and it will begin a little after 9 pm (as soon as it is dark enough) in Gibson Park near the bandshell.
The movie is free, so grab the lawn chairs or a blanket and take the family to the park for an evening under the stars.
The family-friendly event will also include fun kids’ activities like face painting, from 7:00pm – 9:00 pm.
From IMDB: "After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose."
The Great Falls Public Library is inviting children, teens and their families to come Celebrate Great Falls Public Schools’ last day and the start of Summer Reading by decorating a free tote bag and getting signed up for the Library's Summer Reading program. The kick-off party is Friday, June 6, from 12:30 to 3 pm in the Cordingley Room. It is free to attend.
The GFPL Youth Services Department will offer two reading challenges to keep kids and teens reading and learning all summer long. Each book you read counts towards all the reading challenges you are enrolled in. You can still sign up for the Summer Reading Rewards Program and the Teen Loot Box program even if you do not attend the kick-off party.
Children are asked to track their reading using our Beanstack app or a paper log. People can download Beanstack from the Google Play or Apple App Store, or visit the Beanstack site on the library website. Kids and teens birth to 18 will earn a small prize for every 5 hours they read all summer long. Visit the Kids’ Place Desk to choose your prize from our prize cart.
Each week, readers who have completed 5 hours of reading will be entered in a drawing to win a bigger prize, such as a 3D printed dragon or another premium fidget toy. Visit the library's Facebook Page to see each week’s prize. The library is at 301 Second Avenue North.
Big Iron Truck & RV Wash in Great Falls is hosting its first annual Show N Shine Truck Show on Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7. It is located at 2801 Poplar Drive (next to Flying-J Truckstop on Gore Hill). For more information, call 406-206-6261, or click here.
Bicyclists and hikers will be able to access and cross over the Missouri River at Cochrane Dam on Saturday, June 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The dam is normally closed to public access, but each summer, NorthWestern Energy and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks team up to provide this opportunity for hikers and bikers to experience the trails along both sides of the Missouri River near Great Falls on National Trails Day 2025.
Normally only available as an out and back hike or ride, opening Cochrane dam for public access allows trail users to make a loop and hike or ride on both sides of the river during a single trip.
FWP said in a news release that the River’s Edge Trail from the north shore to the south shore (or vice versa) can be used to reach Cochrane Dam, and once there, visitors may hike or walk their bike across the dam. Park staff and volunteers will be present on the dam during the event, and signage on trails will help direct visitors.
Visitors may wish to time their travel to enjoy interpretive “Dam Talks” delivered by park staff on top of the dam at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m.
Participants should expect at least a five-mile hike or ride and be prepared with proper footwear and plenty of drinking water. Keep in mind that there is little to no shade anywhere along the trail, and this is rattlesnake country. Participants should arrange a shuttle or park a vehicle at their ending location, since park staff cannot provide shuttle service.
Trail users should expect to encounter heavier than normal traffic during this event, and bicyclists should control their speed, yield to all, stay to the right except when passing, and ring a bell or call out before passing. A few areas of the trail are rated as moderately difficult, and riders should plan accordingly.
For more information or trail recommendations, contact the Giant Springs ranger station at 406-727-1212.
The Great Falls Public Library will host a Community Celebration in Library Park on Saturday, June 7. The party runs from 3 to 6 pm and is free to attend.
There will be lawn games, live music with TOAST, a food trucks (Papo’s), ice cream from The Ice Box, and all of the Library’s community partners present as we celebrate everything that we do. The Great Falls Parks and Recreation, the local Alzheimer’s Association, Great Falls Theatre Company, and more will be in attendance. Local author/journalist Carol Bradley serves as our the Keynote Speaker for this event talking about why libraries are so important for communities.
Come take a peek inside the Bookmobile, pick up some information from multiple local non-profit organizations, and catch up with some friends old and new. The Ice Box will be serving ice cream, and we'll have more info about what the Library has planned the rest of the summer, as well!
