Five-day celebration in Helena will run June 24-28 with free tours, workshops and a Capitol Lawn finale
The Montana Historical Society will host the Montana History Festival from Wednesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 28, a five-day community celebration marking the grand opening of the fully completed Montana Heritage Center.
The festival will feature free tours, hands-on workshops, live music, an Indigenous artisan market, traditional games and roundtable discussions, along with a signature event on the Capitol Lawn, with activities spread across Helena. Most events are free and open to the public.
The Heritage Center opened to the public in December 2025, and the months that followed brought the addition of the center’s café, its Larry Len and LeAnne Peterson Library and Archives, its Sovereign Nations Arbor, and new artwork and landscaping. In the six months since opening, the center has welcomed more than 80,000 visitors from around the world.
“This festival is our invitation to Montana,” said Molly Kruckenberg, director of the Montana Historical Society. “We’ve spent years building a facility that tells the story of our state, and now that we’re fully open, we want everyone to come see it, experience it, and celebrate it with us. There is something here for every Montanan.”
The festival opens Wednesday, June 24, with Helena’s free summer concert series, Alive at Five, on the Capitol Lawn. On Thursday, June 25, and Friday, June 26, free recurring tours of the Heritage Center, the Montana State Capitol and the Original Governor’s Mansion will run throughout each day, alongside community events, an Indigenous artisan market and music from the Magpie Singers.
Saturday, June 27, brings the festival to its high point, with continued tours and workshops joined by a Historic Organizations Open House at the Capitol Rotunda, traditional Native games on the Capitol Lawn, hands-on history activities for families, and an Indigenous high tea and fashion show. That evening, the Capitol Lawn will host a signature event kicking off Montana’s America 250 celebrations, featuring a flyover and a concert by Jack Gladstone and the New Horizons Brass Band.
“Montana’s history isn’t behind glass,” Kruckenberg said. “It’s alive in the places we gather, the traditions we carry, and the stories we tell each other. We can’t wait to celebrate these stories with Montanans of all ages.”