The Weekly Gather

If you’ve been here awhile, you may have noticed this week’s Gather is… late.

Maybe I’m the only person keeping track of exactly which day this Substack lands in your inbox 😂, but I had gotten into a rhythm of late Sunday nights and, more recently, Monday mornings.

And this week, I just couldn’t do it.

Not because I’ve lost motivation for this resource. Quite the opposite. I have a slightly sickening desire to find, compile, organize and put ALL THE INFORMATION in one place. 😂

And yes, I’ve tried to get AI to help me. Turns out AI is REALLY bad at this particular job.

So much of what makes it into Gather is buried in an Instagram post, Facebook event, newsletter, random flyer or some secret Gallatin Valley word-of-mouth network. I genuinely love finding it all.

But I also really love my family.

And if I’m being blatantly honest, I’ve been neglecting them a little while chasing some dreams lately. My husband has been incredibly supportive, but I know something has to shift in the way my side hustles have been consuming my life.

I want my weekends back.

This weekend, one of my friends got married (thank you, Amy, for making me part of your special day ❤️), and for basically an entire day, I quite literally couldn’t be on my phone working.

And it made me realize something kind of horrifying:

I have not taken a FULL day off from work since APRIL.

APRIL.

That’s months of working every. single. day. And yes, “day off” is being used loosely because I am, of course, still a mother. 😂

If literally any other job had asked that of me, I would have quit.

But the weird part is, I don’t want to quit this.

I LOVE what I’m building. And I’ve met so many unapologetic women lately who are doing the same thing. Building something in the cracks of motherhood, work, finances, marriage, laundry and everything else.

Would I love to be a stay-at-home mom and live comfortably on one income without thinking about finances every day? Absolutely.

That just isn’t our reality. And I have a feeling a lot of you can relate.

We are HUSTLIN’ over here.

But if I want to keep doing this, I need to make it sustainable.

So, Gather is moving to Fridays.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to work toward getting this newsletter into your inbox on Friday instead of Sunday/Monday. But please give me some grace as I don’t anticipate this to be a seamless transition.

I get my weekends back with my family, and you get the Gather earlier so you can actually plan for the week ahead.

Win win.

Because that’s the whole reason this resource exists.

I wanted this eight years ago when I had my son. Now, with two kids, I understand even more how much time it can save to have ONE PLACE to look instead of spending our limited free time searching Facebook, Instagram, Google and twelve different community calendars.

The goal is to help us spend LESS time on our phones searching for things to do and more time actually doing them.

So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for being here. Whether you read every week, share Gather with another mom, send me an event I missed, or support this work with a paid subscription, you’re helping me continue to build something I really believe our community needs.

And hopefully, you’re also helping me learn to take a damn day off once in a while. 😂

Okay, so what’s happening this week?

A few regulars are taking a breather. Bozeman Public Library and Roots Family Collaborative programs are on break, but September is already filling up. Savvy Strength has new class times coming, and Music Together’s fall semester starts in September with registration already open.

And the actual community calendar? Definitely not taking a break.

This week we’ve got:

🎣 A FREE kids fishing day

💦 A splash pad birthday party

🍓 U-pick berries

🎬 A drive-in movie + back-to-school bash

🏰 An entire Renaissance Festival complete with jousting

💪 Mom-friendly fitness

👀 And plenty of those random little events hiding in corners of the internet.

I did the digging.

Here’s a little preview of what I found…

8/18 Gallatin Walleyes Unlimited Annual Kids Fishing Day (THREE FORKS)
Kids 12 & under with caregiver
⏰ 9:00am-12:00pm
📍 Three Forks Ponds - Three Forks
Cost: FREE, limited to first 100 children
Notes: Registration REQUIRED through Eventbrite; All fishing equipment provided; free lunch provided; kids will learn the basics of fishing
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gallatin-walleyes-unlimited-annual-kids-fishing-day-tickets-1994374397510

8/19 The Belgrade Splash Pad is turning 20!
All ages
⏰ 12:00pm-2:00pm
📍 Lewis and Clark Park - 205 E Main St, Belgrade
Cost: FREE
Notes: Stop by for a FREE ice cream bar!

8/20 Savvy Strength - Beyond Postpartum Fitness Class
Mamas (babies & kids welcome within reason)
⏰ 12:00pm-1:00pm
📍 Savvy Strength - 22 Shawnee Way, Suite B, Bozeman
Cost: $20/class or $105 for 6 class pack
Notes: Registration REQUIRED; Suggested prereq is taking the Postpartum Strength and Core class first; These classes are for any stage of postpartum that has been approved by Ellie or a Pelvic Floor PT and even for women who are not mothers, but want to work on connecting to their core strength.
https://www.savvystrength.net/book-a-class

8/21 Bear Canyon Farm U-Pick Raspberries & Strawberries
All ages
⏰ 8:00am-12:00pm (or until sold out)
📍 Bear Canyon Farm - 3641 Bozeman Trail Rd, Bozeman
Cost: ?
Notes: double check Instagram before heading out as they sell out quick and have a limited amount

8/22 The Pasture Drive-in presents Up! For the Back to School Bash (MANHATTAN)
All ages
⏰ 6:30pm (gates) | 9:00pm (movie)
📍 360 Little Camp Creek Way, Manhattan (Amsterdam)
Cost: $25/car
Notes: CASH ONLY! Arrive early; dinner & concessions available; bring blankets, lawn chairs, etc.; hot air balloon 8-9pm; water balloon wars 7:30pm, 8pm, 8:30pm;

8/23 Bozeman Renaissance Festival - Day 2
All ages
⏰ 10:00am-5:00pm
📍 Gallatin County Fairgrounds - 901 N Black Ave, Bozeman
Cost: $30 plus fees - Weekend Pass | $18 plus fees - Saturday | $17 plus fees - Sunday | 10 & under FREE?
Notes:Jousting 11am & 3pm daily; live music, fire ring, mermaid story hour and lots more entertainment
https://bozemanrenfest.com/

9/12-9/14 Hygge Village Co & Mom, What’s Next? Bozeman X The Mothership Collective - Moms on the Madison Campout & Float (NORRIS)
Moms & kids OR Families too!
⏰ 11:00am (9/12) - 11:00am (9/14)
📍 Madison River, Norris
Cost: $20 per campsite, some free spots along the river are an option
Notes: Come float - meet at California Corner in Norris at 11:30am. We will float from California Corner to Blacksford (about 2 hours) and coordinate a car shuttle. Life jackets required for ages 12 & under. Paddleboards work well. Host (Steph) may be able to arrange mesh-bottom raft tubes (reach out if interested). Trapper Springs Campground is the best camping option. Sites hold up to 15 people, cost $20 per night and are first come, first served. The plan is to set up camp after the float.
RSVP: https://partiful.com/e/PgyYImjNZBWDvqoLlVrt? ; Campground: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y54XxBxkpetP14XdA?g_st=ac ; Float location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yxbjv7HVgETtjqLG7

And now for the FULL list...

Everything above is just a little preview. Below you’ll find the full lineup of what’s happening around Gallatin Valley this week with dates, details, direct registration links, and all those random little events that are ridiculously easy to miss.

Every week, I dig through 100+ tabs, newsletters, websites, community calendars, Facebook events, Instagram posts and all the random corners of the internet so you don’t have to.

For $5/month, paid subscribers get the complete weekly Gather, plus seasonal guides, local resources and the hidden gems I find along the way.

And as I shared above, your subscription does more than unlock a list of events. It supports the hours that go into creating this resource and helps make it possible for me to keep doing this work sustainably while hopefully spending a little less of my weekend glued to my phone. ❤️

If Gather has ever helped you answer where can I find community, discover something new, or simply spend less time searching and more time actually doing things together, I’d love to have you join us.

Okay, let’s get into the FULL Gather! 👇