Missoula on Main

missoula on main 2026- Save the DATE!

Celebrate the end of 2026 and welcome 2027 with Missoula on Main, Arts Missoula’s annual New Year’s celebration bringing music, dance, culture and community to the heART of Missoula!

This family-friendly celebration showcases the incredible talent and creativity of our community with live performances, the Dance Showcase, Spotlight Teen Singing Competition, Cultures in Concert, Candlelight Symphony and family activities at the Missoula Public Library, and more throughout downtown.

Then, as midnight approaches, gather at the ZACC for the Ed Norton Big Band Ball and count down together as Missoula welcomes the New Year!

Missoula on Main is about more than New Year’s Eve, it’s a celebration of the artists, performers, cultures and people who make Missoula such a vibrant place to live.

Tickets coming soon!

Do you know a middle or high school student that would love a chance to perform??

Here are the details for Spotlight auditions:

Date: Sunday, November 8th
Time: 10 AM – 4 PM
Competition Date: December 30th at the Dennison Theater
Please prepare 2 songs – be ready to sing them in their entirety, knowing that the judges can stop you if they’ve heard what they need to!

Missoula on Main, our NYE Arts and Culture Festival is full of joy for our audience and performers. We want to ring in the New Year with levity and fun. Ideally, songs selections should be something that the students can relate to and also keep the spirit of the event and new year in mind. Please encourage your students to find selections that follow these guidelines.

Audition sign-ups close at midnight on October 30th so please encourage any interested students (grades 6-12) to complete the Google form at the link below. Only those who register online will be eligible.

First Night, A History

The New Year’s Eve festival of the arts known as First Night began in 1975 in Boston, Massachusetts, as a project of local citizens who had originally met to plan a celebration of the nation’s Bicentennial the following year. Their desire was to re-energize the downtown area, and what emerged was an annual event based on four guiding principles: Community, Celebration, New Year’s Eve, and Art.