New Spring into the Past festival a rousing success for MAT

Hundreds of people took a trip into yesteryear Friday and Saturday when Montana Actors' Theatre held if first Spring into the Past festival in the Montana State University-Northern Student Union Building.

"This was an ambitious project at best and then we had a lot of curve balls thrown at us with the weather," said MAT member Morgaine Lomayesva, one of the organizers of the event.

More than 300 people attended the two-day event.

MAT originally planned to hold the festival, which ended with performances of MAT's production of "Cyrano de Bergerac," in the amphitheater behind Pershing Hall but moved it indoors when forecasts predicted rain Friday night and Saturday. With the indoor venue, MAT canceled the festival part Friday and only held a performance of the play, but Saturday put on the full event for the public.

Lomayesva said that putting on the event was a battle and was rough because of the large number of plays put on during the season and due to the weather. But the event went really well, with a lot of children attending, a good number of vendors and good attendance from the public, she added.

"I also discovered that there is a really huge part of this community that does some really cool things," she added.

She said it sounded like the event went well and she is excited to see if MAT will want to hold a similar event in the future. The strong attendance that was seen Friday and Saturday was a testament to the community's interest and support of MAT, she said.

MAT Assistant Artistic Director Grant Olson, director of "Cyrano de Bergerac," said that the attendance to the event was beyond expectation, with more than 70 people attending Friday for the show and more than 200 people attending the event and show Saturday.

He added that the biggest successes of the event were the community support, the support of vendors and the event sponsors. The event and the show were free due to the sponsorships and the Atchison family, sponsor and was MAT's way of thanking the community for the support it has received over the years.

"I'm glad that the people are enjoying it so much," Olson said. "That's what it's about. In some ways this was about a community appreciation sort of event ... being able to give the community something free to do during the summer."

Olson said that he also wanted to thank the Atchison family, Perry and Jennifer - the king and queen of the event - for being the main sponsoring Spring into the Past.

Perry Atchison said that at the "Death by Chocolate" event MAT performed last year, he bid and won being a sponsor of the play. He added that he wanted to see something new in Havre and Spring into the Past was a good start.

Atchison's family crest was displayed at the king and queen dining area during the event.

Clyde Thomas Jr. and Stephen Brown also sponsored the event.

"I think it's kind of neat. It's a totally different type of event than they have had before," Thomas said.

He added that the event being tied into the show was a really great way to have it, making it fun for a variety of ages in the community.

Brown said that he is interested to see where the event goes and what direction MAT will take it in the future.

"We like it when they do something different, that's great," he said.

Thomas said that he hopes the event will be outside next year and perhaps have more vendors.

"It shows what the MAT theater can do. It gets it out to the public more than just a play," he said, adding that games, food and other things for a wide range of people were at the festival.

Olson said that he cannot guarantee an event next year but he is very interested in MAT doing it again, and doing it bigger next year.

"It seems like something the community wants and something we enjoy doing," he said.

He said a number of people at the event have also been to other Renaissance fairs in the state, but everyone seemed to be excited about creating something unique in the Havre area.

"It was a completely new event for us," he said, adding that it is not a fundraiser like "Death by Chocolate" but something new.

The hardest thing about organizing the show, Lomayesva said, was getting people interested in attending as well as finding vendors to volunteer.  Summertime in Havre, people leave town for vacation or go on trips to enjoy the weather, she said, and it is hard to find time to schedule everything.

"It's always tricky when trying to put the event together," she said.

The amount of talent in the community and the crafts people do are strange but cool and are things not everyone thinks of," she said.

"I think, sometimes, people have hobbies that they think are really normal, but they really aren't, and they are super cool," she said.

Lomayesva said she also realized during the planning process the scope for something that big takes major event-planning skills, and she has gained a new respect for people who do this.

"It's exciting to see something you work for come to fruition and see people enjoy themselves," she said.

She added that T.C. and Amanda Knutson did a lot of work getting the event organized as well as Angie Pratt working tirelessly - day and night.

"I cannot say enough nice things about Angie Pratt," she said.

Pratt said that she was worried about the event being moved indoors, but it all turned out great with the show and the event being well-attended by the public.

"It's definitely something new that Havre hasn't seen," she said.

The event was to bring the community together and support each other, she added.

"The arts is a fun way to express yourself and to bond together as a community," Pratt said. "I feel MAT really tries to bring that to our community and this is a way to give back because this is free, so this is a way to give back for everything that Havre has given to us because they support us in so many ways."