Eagles holding talent show to help with Havre Beneath the Streets repairs

Havre Eagles Club is looking for musicians from across the area to compete in its first North Central Montana Music Talent Find Saturday, Sept. 14, to help raise funds for repairs and improvements for Havre Beneath the Streets.

“I like to see the talent out there and we have a lot of talent,” Havre Eagles Club Manager Tom Farnham said. “Besides (Montana State University-Northern) and some of the college people who have talent, there are quite a few bands in this area compared to the rest of the state and there is a lot of performers out here who haven’t had a chance to show their talent.”

The North Central Montana Music Talent Find is the most recent of the fundraisers for Havre Beneath the Streets to make repairs to the sidewalk in front of the Eagles Club to stop leaks, which since the beginning of this year has forced Beneath the Streets to close several of its exhibits. It is also looking to make some improvements to the tour by making it more handicap accessible. Beneath the Streets is looking at an $80,000 tourism grant, which is a two-to-one match grant, and needs to raise $40,000 before it is able to apply.

Farnham said that Beneath the Streets has been doing a variety of things to raise the money needed for the grant and it is important for Havre to support its main tourist attraction. He added that Beneath the Streets is an important part of history and Havre’s economy, with the attraction bringing in people from all across the world.

“It’s a big thing and Havre really benefits from Beneath the Streets,” he said.

The mercantile room was one of his favorite parts of the tour, because it really makes people feel like they stepped back in time, but because of the leaks it is closed, he said. Handicap accessibility is also critical, but with part of the attraction closed, Beneath the Streets not easily accessible for people who require wheelchairs. 

Farnham said he had the idea for the Talent Find because the Eagles Club already does a number of musical events and it is also part of their obligation to help with the sidewalk. He added that he wanted to make the event fun.

The Eagles Club is only of the two places in Havre which regularly holds live musical events, he said, and addition to wanting to bring a nightlife to the area he also wants to see all the different musicians who don’t normally perform.

The event will also include a hamburger feed from 6 to 8 p.m., which will be $6 and include hamburgers, salad, beans and chips, he said. He added that the bar will be open and the event will also be holding a 50/50 raffle as well as raffling of the quad runner which Beneath the Streets started advertising and selling tickets for in June.

The door fee for the event will be $5, Farnham said, adding that the door fee and the money raised in the hamburger feed will go directly to the Beneath the Streets sidewalk fund. 

He added that people interested in performing have until Monday, Sept. 9, to put in their application. People will have the option of six different categories to register in; solo female older than 25, solo female younger than 25, solo male older than 25, solo male younger than 25, dual and band. The event has a $25 entry fee.

The event is open to the Hi-Line and Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, he said. He added that the reservations have a lot of talent which he is excited to see.

Farnham said the winner of each category will receive the entry fees of everyone within their category as well as a trophy. He added that he thinks the trophy will get more people excited about performing in the future because the prize money will be spent, but people can always keep their trophy.

Participants will be judged by a panel of four or five judges from all around the area, including Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy’s reservations, he said. He added that the judges all will come from some form of musical background, such as music teachers, former music store owners and radio DJs.

Participants will also be judged in three separate categories; overall performance, originality and musicianship. The event will have two back-up bands, the Milk River Band and Blind Luck, for solo singing acts. Musicians are asked to choose four songs they are willing to perform, although they will only be asked to perform three songs.

Performances will start at 6:30 p.m., he added.

“At the same time we are trying to have fun and raise a little money and find how much talent there is out in the community,” he said.

He added that Havre has a music scene including Sounds of the Square and live music in Pepin Park.

Farnham said if the event goes well he would be interested in doing it again in the future.

“I think it will be surprising who’s out there,” he said.