fun Archives - Downtown Billings Alliance

29th Annual Strawberry Festival

Located in the streets of downtown Billings, the Strawberry Festival is a long-time cherished community event that opens the summer season. In the heart of our urban center, experience rich diversity in arts and crafts, the scents of food-truck fare from Asian to BBQ, live street entertainment, over 90 merchants, live street entertainment, and a 60-foot long strawberry shortcake create by the Chefs and Cooks Association of Montana. With an interactive children’s area including free crafts and activities for all ages, this event draws people throughout the northwest region to Downtown Billings under Skypoint at 2nd Ave N. and Broadway.

COVID-19 UPDATE:

The 29th Annual Strawberry Festival scheduled to take place in downtown Billings under Skypoint at N. Broadway and 2nd Ave. N. on Saturday, June 6, 2020, is postponed. It is unlikely that large group gatherings will be allowable in time for the June date. The festival will be rescheduled, as of now, for Sunday, September 13, 2020, from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm. The effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 has temporarily halted the anticipated spring and summer event season not just in our City and State but across the nation. The DBA is closely monitoring and adhering to the COVID-19 directives and recommendations from Montana State officials and the Yellowstone County Health Department.

We are just as devastated as many of you are that our spring and summer event season may not go on as scheduled. The September date is our best case scenario right now to be able to bring the 2020 Strawberry Festival to our community. With so much changing so quickly, we are remaining as flexible as we can and looking for ways to continue to bring fun downtown activities to our community, within the social distancing guidelines put in place by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) and in compliance with Governor Bullock’s phased approach to re-open the state.

If you have any questions or need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out through email at frontdesk@downtownbillings.com. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

2020 online vendor Application – CURRENTLY PAUSED
The application process for the 2020 Strawberry Festival will remain suspended for the time being while we wait for more information from our state and health leaders. We will notify everyone when we re-open the application process again.

Volunteer for this event

Event Resources

Sponsor This Event

Coming Soon

Strawberry Festival Map
Skypoint Entertainment Line-up

Do you have additional questions regarding the Strawberry Festival? Please contact our Event Director, Lindsay Richardson and she’ll be happy to assist.

May 7, 2020 – The 29th Annual Strawberry Festival Postponed (KGHL)
June 8, 2019 – Strawberry Festival celebrates with rain in downtown Billings (KTVQ)
Jun 5, 2019 – Strawberry Festival returns to downtown with live entertainment and a 60-foot long dessert (Billings Gazette)

Austin Powers (1997) | Nostalgia Night at the Babcock

Yeah baby! We’re taking a trip back in time to the 60s (and then forward again to the 90s) with Mike Myers’s as the titular swingin’ spy and the nefarious Dr. Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) for Nostalgia Night at the Babcock Theatre! Live dangerously and come in costume and a small popcorn is on us!

Please note there will be safety guidelines to follow (oh, behave), and we will be limiting seating to 200 per screening.

GET TICKETS NOW

arthousebillings.com/austin-powers/

Canceled: Alive After 5 & Magic City Blues

Live Music & Fun with 1500 of Your Closest Friends!

Music – Food – Drinks – Dancing – Community

Alive After 5 is Downtown’s most anticipated summer concert series that takes place weekly, Thursday evenings, from 5:00pm -8:00pm at a different outdoor venue in downtown Billings, in June and July. Each summer, the series entertainment line-up ranges from local and regional favorites to nationally touring bands. Each concert includes various food vendors with outdoor food menu options to choose from.

2020 AA5 Series Cancelled

Admission:

Admission for Alive After 5 remains free for the public, however, 21 and older individuals wishing to consume alcohol must purchase a $2 wristband at one of the Purple tents.

The V.I.P Experience:

Each concert includes a special shaded V.I.P area with chairs, tables, ice cold bottled water, and easy access to one of the event bar locations. A limited number of $10 V.I.P wristbands are sold each week on a first come first serve basis. To reserve your spot in the V.I.P area either visit the DBA office located at 116 N. 29th Street suite A or call (406) 294-5060, Monday – Thursday from 9:00am to 12:00pm.

Event Resources

Band Booking Inquiry Form

[pdf-embedder url="https://downtownbillings.com/wp-content/uploads/2020-AA5-Sponsorships.12.5.19.pdf" title="2020 AA5 Sponsorship Details"]

We’re always looking for good volunteers to help with setup, wrist banding, and IDing from 4:45-8pm.

If you’re interested in getting involved, contact our Event Director.

The Downtown Billings Alliance (DBA) coordinates each of the AA5 concerts from set-up to tear-down and beyond. Each concert date takes place at a “Host” location within the Business Improvement District (BID). The concert series brings over 10,000 people to downtown Billings each summer.

Most of the DBA signature events such as St. Patrick’s Day festivities, Strawberry Festival, Harvest Fest, Holiday parade, Christmas Stroll, First Friday efforts, and more, are not revenue generators for the DBA, but are coordinated in efforts to bring people to downtown boosting the vitality of the downtown businesses. AA5 not only brings people downtown it is also one of the few revenue generating events thrown by the DBA. The revenue generated by the AA5 series helps sustain the coordination and facilitation of the other DBA community-centric events throughout the year.

The AA5 downtown concert series was started in 2003 by a group of downtown restaurant & property owners led by the Publisher of the Gazette. The anchoring hosts included Walkers, McCormick’s, Pug Mahons, The Rex, and Montana Brewing Co and began with just 5 summer concerts around downtown. Tiny’s Tavern added in as an anchoring host in 2004. Over the years, the idea grew from the initial 5 concerts a summer to, at its biggest 14 concerts, to its current 8 concert series. When the Anchor Hosts passed the event over in full to the DBA to operate, the agreement made between the DBA & the anchor hosts is such that each year the remaining anchoring host’s are given a first-right-of-refusal to host a date in the coming season. The remaining dates are then opened up for other interested locations to bid for a date to host.

If you would be interested in more information on how to bid to host an AA5 concert please, contact our Event Director.

Our 2020 Season Sponsors:

Series Producer

Composer Sponsors:

Orchestra Sponsors:

Chorus Sponsors:

Support Sponsors:

Austin Powers (1997) | Nostalgia Night at the Babcock

Please note there will be safety guidelines to follow (oh, behave), and we will be limiting seating to 200 per screening.

GET TICKETS NOW

arthousebillings.com/austin-powers/

2001: A Space Odyssey at the Babcock Theatre

Stanley Kubrick’s cerebral sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey is coming to the historic Babcock Theatre for one weekend only! An unparalleled feat of cinema, it is the monolithic exploration of human, alien, and artificial intelligence from the minds of Kubrick and author Arthur C. Clarke that has entertained and puzzled audiences for over 50 years! Revisit this impressive visual masterpiece, remastered in stunning 4K, at the only venue worthy of a true art film experience.