Despite getting rained out at annual An Ri Ra festival, spirits are high

Extreme weather has been impacting summer festivals here in Butte starting with a heatwave during the Montana Folk Fest and continuing with thunderstorms during the 20th annual An Ri Ra festival this past weekend.

Despite the soggy weather, An Ri Ra festival organizers say that the event was still a success and they are excited for next year.

Meagan Thompson

"Friday night we had lightening delays that .... stopped the show throughout the night and then Saturday we dealt with weather the entire day eventually we washed out at the end there," says Brendan McDonough, a member of the An Ri Ra executive committee and a festival organizer.

The storm may have derailed the outdoor show but dancers put on one final performance in the old church across the street. They had a small sound system but with the force of their tapping and jumping, the thunder was drowned out.

McDonough says despite the weather the show drew an audience of happy people.

"You know, a lot of people stuck around and were very cordial. We were able to see quite a bit of music, really, you know considering how the weather went."

The 2024 An Ri Ra festival celebrates 20 years in the Mining City and Brendan says the show will be on again next year.

"I think everyone’s pretty tired after the weekend so we’ll probably take about a month off and then start formulating a plan for next year."