Every performer knows the moment. The lights dim, the room goes quiet, and before a single note is sung, there is gratitude — simply for the chance to stand there at all.
After a lifetime on stages from Broadway to the Flathead Valley, I’ve learned that no performance belongs to the artist alone. It belongs to a whole community that decided, long before opening night, that the arts were worth supporting. This November, I want to shine a light on the people who make our stages possible.
Behind the Curtain
Walk into the O’Shaughnessy Center on a show night and you’re seeing the work of dozens of neighbors who never take a bow. Whitefish Theatre Company, now in its 48th season, runs on volunteers who sew costumes, build sets, gather props, run tech, staff the box office and greet you at the door.
Each September, the company throws a party simply to thank them and welcome new helpers — proof that gratitude is written right into the script here. This season’s 14 performances, including the musical Big Fish this December, will reach the stage because ordinary people chose to give their evenings away.
A Music School Built on Piggy Banks
Few stories capture our town’s generosity like North Valley Music School. Montana’s only nonprofit community music school spent more than two decades squeezed into a converted, century-old house on Spokane Avenue, tucking instruments into closets wherever they fit.
Then the community stepped in. Donors large and small helped the school reach its $7.5 million goal for an 8,100-square-foot campus at Smith Fields, with 15 private studios and a 100-seat recital hall. School leaders still smile about the five-year-old who emptied her piggy bank and the kids who ran lemonade stands to help. The doors opened in August 2025, and scholarships continue to help students of every age find their voice.
A Valley That Gives
That spirit stretches across the whole valley. This summer’s Great Fish Community Challenge, hosted by Whitefish Community Foundation, drew more than 4,000 donors and raised a record $8.6 million for 89 local nonprofits — among them arts groups like Bear Grass Performing Arts and the Whitefish Songwriter Festival — before matching grants were even counted. Since 2015, the Challenge has raised more than $43 million for Flathead Valley causes. For a place our size, that is a standing ovation.
Giving Back This Season
Gratitude is easy to feel and even easier to share. Buy a ticket and bring a friend who’s never been. Volunteer to usher or paint a set. Sponsor a young musician’s lessons. And when the curtain falls, clap a little longer — artists hear it, I promise.
To every volunteer, donor, teacher and audience member who has ever made room for music and theatre in this town: thank you. You are the reason the lights come up. From one performing artist to our whole community, it is an honor to share the stage with you.
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