Craig Caddis Festival

The Craig Caddis Festival begins with a parade. On the 2022 program, entrants lined up at the fire station at 2:45, and at 3 o’clock the floats and groups started down the main street. The silent auction opened when the parade was done. At 4 the barbecue contestants began selling bites at $5 apiece. Craig is a Lewis & Clark County town of 46 people on the banks of the Missouri River, at an elevation of 3,599 feet. The regional tourism office describes it in one line: “Craig is all about fishing.” The town has fishing guides and fishing shops. In 2014 the Great Falls Tribune wrote that the festival “pays tribute to the mighty caddis fly.”

The 2026 festival was held Saturday, August 22, on Main Street, starting at 3 p.m. Its listing named barbecue competitors, brewers, arts and crafts vendors, children’s events, live music and an open mic, and live and silent auctions, and called the day “always family friendly.” The money goes to the Craig Volunteer Fire Department. The 2022 schedule also named the Sewer District as a beneficiary of the live auction.

Four judges and a wader van

In the days before the 2026 festival, its Facebook page introduced the barbecue judges. They were Dana Gallaher, an account executive at KMON; Wendy Lee, marketing director at Scheels; Tim McGonigle, a KRTV anchor and reporter; and Hope Good, publisher and owner of Treasure State Lifestyles Montana magazine and director of the Best of the West and Legends West art shows. Visitors judge too. The page told them “you can judge for yourself, when you take bites from contestants.” On the morning of August 22 it posted a team of cooks “throwing their camouflage hats in the bbq contest ring.”

Simms, out of Bozeman, announced it would bring a van to repair waders “regardless of who the maker is,” which the page said was “reason enough to come to Caddis.” Raffle tickets sold at the Craig bar in the weeks before, at five dollars each or six for $20, and again on the day. In 2022, Craig’s businesses kept their doors open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Nick Crawford Band started at 4:30, and music and dancing ran until 8:30.

Guide trips on the auction block

The live auction begins around 6. The 2022 program listed “GUIDE TRIPS, ART BY MONTANA ARTISTS and so much more.” Artists donate their work to an annual contest. The winning piece goes to the live auction, the other entries go at least to the silent auction, and the artist and the fire department split each sale. Submissions are also considered for the festival’s posters and swag.

The 2026 donors were named one by one on the festival page. Beth Langell “every year, without fail” has given a guide trip, and the page called “Beth and Kuhnert” “the strongholds in the canyon.” Mike Kuhnert and the Lodge at Eagle Rock gave again. Headhunters Fly Shop put up a Loomis IMX Pro V2 Shortspey 4-weight rod, valued at $675, along with fly lines, shirts, stickers and hats. The Trout Shop gave a silent auction package. Erik at the Lazy I gave, and so did someone offering two hours of cleaning, listed at “Value: $100/invaluable!”

The donation the page said “we’ve all been waiting for” came from the Gilsons, a stay at their place in the canyon. “Rumor has it when Justin Bieber was in the canyon, last year, he stayed here,” the page wrote. The Gilsons also hosted a dinner for the volunteer firefighters.

On September 4, 2026, the page reported that the fire department was looking into disaster relief and a fundraiser for a family who had lost their home and business. “This is exactly why we hold the Craig Caddis Festival!”

A parade for Robert Lay

According to the festival’s own site, the event began in 2005. Two people have stayed with it: Lynn Kenyon of Live in Montana Real Estate and Mark Raisler of Headhunters Fly Shop, both local business owners. The count of editions varies by source. The Tribune called the 2014 festival the eighth annual, and the festival billed 2022 as its 17th.

The 2014 festival fell in May, with the parade through downtown at 4 p.m. on a Saturday, followed by a craft fair, the barbecue competition and tasting, music, and the auctions. Raisler told the Tribune he expected up to 100 silent auction items from Great Falls and Helena businesses, art from regional artists, and live auction lots that included guided fishing trips in Montana and other parts of the country. He said the festival typically drew up to 1,000 people, depending on the weather. That year’s barbecue included ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken and chicken wings, at $2 a food ticket. Max Hay played at 4, and Rocket to Uranus took the outdoor stage at 8:30. Both acts were brought back from the year before because people had asked for them. “They seem to be perennial favorites who have got a good stage presence and a complete show with music and lights and everything,” Raisler said.

The 2014 parade had classic cars, floats, animals, children and musical acts, and the day’s program included naming a king and queen of Craig. That year’s parade was dedicated to Robert Lay, who had died earlier in the year. He was a friend to many in Craig and had been integral in developing the Helena chapter of Montana Project Healing Waters, a nonprofit that provides fly-fishing trips and clinics for veterans.