PBS program highlights Polson cherry festival

An all-new edition of “Backroads of Montana” travels to Polson for the Flathead Cherry Festival to follow competitors in the cherry pit spitting and cherry pie eating contests.

The program premieres at 8 p.m. Monday on MontanaPBS.

This episode of “Backroads” also tells the story of Hobson dentist Virgil Stewart, who began his practice in 1912 during an era when most rural Montanans could not afford such care. But ‘Doc’ Stewart couldn’t turn anyone away. For 50 years, he filled and straightened teeth often receiving nothing more than a chicken, some flour or an appreciative handshake.

The next stop is the Sweet Grass Hills, where local residents take viewers to an unexpected natural wonder rising out of the prairie. It is a tight squeeze to get into this limestone cave, but it is worth the effort.

Finally, viewers will meet an eastern Montana man whose passion for art has literally spread all over the town of Forsyth. However, Bob Watts has become better known for a different set of paintings, and it is not what he paints, but how he paints that gives him the notoriety.

William Marcus hosts the program from historic locations around Havre and Chinook.

If you miss Monday’s premiere, catch this episode again at 1 a.m. Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. May 25, 10 a.m. June 9 or 7:30 p.m. July 4.