Harvest Festival celebrates end of summer in Libby's Riverfront Park

The Montana Wilderness Association and the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness collaborated to host the Harvest Festival Saturday afternoon at Riverfront Park in Libby. The event was a celebration of the end of the summer, featuring live music, food, beer and other vendors.

“We did a quick count midway through the evening and there were about 150 folks there, plus staff and volunteers,” Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness program coordinator Sandy Compton said. “T. Scot Wilburn and the Shut-Up-N-Playboys did a great job, as did Red Morton and his band.”

The crowd milled around to the various vendors and danced to the music of the two bands, enjoying a warm summer evening on the banks of the Kootenai River.

The Bull Lake Rod and Gun Club donated 24 hours of use of their facility to the event. Mac’s Market donated a gift certificate and Naturally Good Things in Libby supplied all of the drinking water for the event.

Compton praised the work of the volunteers who made the event possible.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to our volunteer crew, Mike Kroschel, Eileen Carney, Howard and Coni Shay, Brian Baxter, Brian Sherry, Sarah Morkeberg and Elizabeth Morkeberg.”

Compton said the event was a success.

“Friends of Scotchman Peaks and Montana Wilderness Association were pleased with how things came together,” he said. “We really appreciate the job that Ashley South did organizing the festival. We lost a couple of vendors to an early wind event, but all in all the Harvest Festival was a great way to end the summer.