Organizers ask Missoula County to endorse, publicize Norman Maclean festival and help with fundraising outreach

Organizers of the biennial "In the Footsteps of Norman Maclean" festival asked the Missoula County Board of Commissioners for a formal endorsement, county publicity support and help connecting with potential funders as they finalize plans for an October 2026 program that celebrates the Blackfoot River and the author Norman Maclean.

The request came during a special presentation to the board. Jerry McConnell, identified in the meeting as an organizer, outlined the festival’s history — first held in 2015, moved to Missoula after the 2017 Rice Ridge Fire, and held roughly every two years except for a COVID interruption — and described its mix of literary and film programming and tours of conservation sites along the Blackfoot. McConnell said the festival has drawn attendees from more than 40 U.S. states and visitors from Europe and Japan.

McConnell told commissioners the festival’s operating budget typically has ranged from about $60,000 at the low end to roughly $100,000 at…