Day of events celebrate new Parkline Trail

A community celebration for the Kalispell Parkline Trail is set for Thursday, July 21.

Events run throughout the day culminating in a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks from dignitaries at 5:30 p.m. at the Parkline Linear Park Plaza between Main Street and First Avenue north of Depot Park.

Events during the day range from on the trail to nearby downtown Kalispell. Events are hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the City of Kalispell.

At the Northwest Montana History Museum, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. visitors can check out the Kalispell: Montana’s Eden exhibit which tells the story of Kalispell from the railroad’s arrival up to the present day. Admission is free all day.

Look for Plein Air on the Parkline, from noon until 5 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to observe professional local en plein air artists painting live, outdoors along the trail. Artists will be stationed at various points on the downtown trail. Admission to the Hockaday Museum is free that day.

Meet Brit Clark, director of the Conrad Mansion Museum, at the new plaque on the eastern side of the Parkline trail by the BNSF train locomotive at 3 p.m. for a talk about Charles E. Conrad.

A Montana pioneer and businessman, Conrad made his fortune as a Fort Benton freighter and trader on the banks of the Missouri River. HIs relationship with James J. Hill brought the Great Northern Railway to the area, connecting Kalispell to the modern era and transforming the tiny settlement into the business and tourism hub we know today.

The Conrad Mansion is also open for tours that day.

At 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., Tunnel Vision Mural Tours will sow off the public art along the trail.

Join Alisha Shiling with Kalico and Kip Smith of Rails to Trails to discuss public art partnerships, and then take a Kalispell Trolley to view a newly finished Tunnel Vision mural on the Rails to Trails by Lone Pine State Park and then view other downtown mural projects that Kalico has helped organize. The tour will end at Bias Brewery with a complimentary beer. Space limited to the two trolleys and first come first serve.

ImagineIF Library hosts kids activities in Depot Park from 2 to 5 p.m. Celebrate exploring the Parkline with hopscotch, obstacle courses and kids activities outside the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce office.

The Center for Restorative Youth Justice is hosting a station for teenage activities from 3 to 5 p.m. on Market Place Street.

Volunteers with Kalico will assist children in building a commemorative Parkline ribbon. From 3 to 4 p.m., meet on the eastern side of the Parkline at Fourth Ave East.

Then at 4 p.m., celebrate the trail with a Kiddie Parade down the Parkline. Celebrate and explore the Parkline with family. Children and families are encouraged to bring their bikes, striders, wagons or baby strollers to go down the Parkline above Woodland Park.