By all accounts - including partygoers and police - the second annual River City Roots Festival held in downtown Missoula over the weekend was a memorable good time.
At one point late Saturday night, Sgt. Mark Horner stood on the roof of Central Park and got a bird's eye view of the mob on Main Street.
“And the music was great.”
The crowd was so congenial no citations were issued, there were no fights, and everyone respected that open container laws went back into effect when the Gourds finished their last song around 11 p.m., Horner said.
Dave Yager was all smiles Sunday afternoon as he dished up noodle bowls on the last day of the two-day festival.
“Missoula is wonderful,” said the Kalispell-based food vendor, while serving customers at Shichuan BBQ, a food tent he operates with his wife, Rong.
“This festival is wonderful,” Yager said. “And that crowd last night? They were wonderful. We sell food at Out To Lunch every Wednesday and we usually go through one or two cases of noodles. Last night we went through 10 cases - it was crazy.
“And the people were just great - as friendly as can be. We even had a few people offer to help chop cabbage for us because we were so busy.
“I never seen anything like it - it was just a great time.”
Ten bands, including the Texas-based Gourds, played at the festival free of charge, thanks to the generous support of downtown Missoula businesses, said Linda McCarthy, Missoula Downtown Association executive director.
“This was a big risk for us financially,” McCarthy said. “It cost us $85,000 to put it on and we make it free, but we do so only because of business sponsorship and the generous support of Missoula businesses.”
After bills are paid out, any profits garnered from beer ticket sales will be stashed away for next year's festival, which will be even bigger and better, McCarthy promised.
“This is a great event and we want to continue building and building it,” she said. “We have huge goals for this.”
Last year's event, which was one day only and greatly dampened by rain, snow and unseasonably cold weather, attracted less than 3,000 people.
This year, more than 10,000 people came to the festival to dance, wander through a juried art show, participate and watch in kayak and skateboard events, run in the festival's four-mile race and sample food from 12 distinctly different vendors.
“We had an amazing weekend here,” McCarthy said. “We just put on the biggest event downtown Missoula has ever seen.”
“It was just fantastic,” agreed Kathie Early, owner of Mother Trucker, a rolling diner in the back of a 1978 GMC van. “I think we ran out of everything but for a few mozzarella sticks and onion rings - but that didn't matter,” she said.
“No one seemed to mind because the bands were awesome, the Gourds were phenomenal, and the crowd was awesome.
“Everybody was so happy and dancing everywhere you looked.”
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