Education

The Message Within Music

Children who get to experience music early in life are introduced to big concepts in exploration Article by Marko Capoferri | Photography by Rick Szczechowski There’s a lot of science that shows the benefits of music lessons for kids. From increased brain function and cognitive development, to enhanced motor skills and pattern recognition, music can be an accelerant for a variety of nuts-and-bolts life skills.  You can read the studies and learn a lot, for sure. You can hear it straight from...

Entertainment

Ball & Pins

Westside Lanes & Fun Center Article by Chelsea Lyn Agro Sometimes you just need to beat the heat when that August heat sweeps low into the valley. Westside Lanes & Fun Center, if you've never been, hits you almost simultaneously with its dark entrance and cool air and you know already that you'll want to stay put for a few hours. And if you have kids, all the better. Kids Bowl Free is a summer program that allows children ages 2 to 15 to play two free games daily throughout the summer months...

Life + Culture

Pancake the Llama

Article by Shelby Humphreys When my husband bought our home, the property came with some extras: a detached garage with a shop, a small barn, and a llama. That’s right, a female llama. Although we were the ones signing the deed, over the years we came to understand that we were just visitors on the land that she watched over for nearly 26 years. We were told that the llama’s name was “Pancake.” I’m not sure how she got that name, but looking at her rough coat, it made sense. She hadn’t been...

Local Services

Nothing Fishy About Travis

Blue Reef is Missoula's tropical fish store, and Travis Homme is the expert you want to know Article by Marko Capoferri | Photography by Rick Szczechowski Of all the things to have a slightly unhealthy fixation on, keeping tropical fish is probably quite low on the list of something your friends and family will worry about. Be careful, though: it just may become a way of life.  This is pretty much what happened to Travis Homme, owner and operator of Blue Reef, a shop on Missoula’s West Side...

Sports + Recreation

The Park with All the Perks

The Big Sky Horse Park creates community for riders and horse admirers alike Article and Photography by Chelsea Lyn Agro If you've ever ventured catty corner from a track meet at Big Sky High School to see where a galloping horse was going on a random Saturday in summertime, you might have been wonderfully welcomed to the Big Sky Horse Park.  There truly is no greater invitation than hearing the thundering of horse hooves making way through a freshly mowed cross-country course, or seeing...

Sports + Recreation

Kicking It in Missoula

2026 marks the 50th soccer season for the Missoula YMCA Article by Marko Capoferri | Photography by Rick Szczechowski Soccer is an international pastime, as baseball is here in the States. In some countries around the world, soccer is as beloved as music or food: it’s just a part of the culture, inextricable, like language. Whatever the name— fútbol in Spain, sakkā (サッカー) in Japan, sepak bola in Indonesia—soccer has a foothold across the globe.  When thinking about the microcosms of...

Life + Culture

Camping with Kids!

Exploring with littles in tow is courageous, outrageous, and maybe contagious? Five tidbits for your next trip. Article and Photography by Emma Trotter I was pregnant with my first child when I booked her first camping trip. Now that she’s 5—and her younger siblings are 3 and 1—my husband and I camp a bit less than we did before kids. But with some preparation and mindset-shifting, camping with young kids is totally doable—and occasionally even enjoyable, too. It all starts with reserving a...

Entertainment

Downtown ToNight

The quintessential seasonal staple, Downtown ToNight, spells summertime for Missoulians Article by Emma Trotter | Photography by Kristen Victoria Photography, Athena Photography, Downtown Missoula Partnership, Jake Treece In beautiful summer here in Missoula, it’s worth pausing to appreciate that downtown, you can find great music at a historic venue, an outdoor festival, or a street corner. Downtown, you can find a delicious meal at your long-time favorite restaurant or an upstart food truck...

Health + Wellness

The Mind Matters

Inner Journey Healthcare puts emphasis on exploring the paths in front of you Article by Shelby Humphreys | Photography by Rick Szczechowski In Missoula, people are ready to explore. Whether that’s outside on the trails or through a more inward journey that touches soul and spirit, connection can be found in many ways. On Hickory Street, a behavioral health clinic called Inner Journey Healthcare holds that connection at the center of its practice. Inner Journey Healthcare began with its own...

Arts + Culture

The Man Behind the Murals

Parker Beckley, a self proclaimed rambler and weirdo, charms us with his wit, perspective, and talent Article by Chelsea Lyn Agro | Photography by Rick Szczechowski Parker Beckley’s artistic medium is goofiness. His large format murals appear around town at places like Bridge Pizza, where a pie soaring into a disc golf basket gets a second look and a grin from patrons. He sells stickers and t-shirts on his website ( ParkerBeckley.com ) and creates outlandish, whimsical content on Instagram...