Missoula is a culturally diverse community with a broad range of Arts available in the areas of theater, music, dance, festivals and art. Art galleries are a major focus of Missoula's downtown where you can tour the many galleries anytime and especially on First Friday - the first Friday of every month when the galleries stay open late and people gather downtown to enjoy photography, sculptures, ceramics, paintings, and locally made arts and crafts.

Some of Missoula's many cultural draws include:

Missoula Children's Theater for the Performing Arts: http://www.mctinc.org/ - North America's largest touring children's theater and home to a series of community productions, both musical and non-musical.

UM Productions: http://www.umproductions.org/ - UM Productions provides programs from jass to modern dance to comedy to blues and ballet.

The Montana Repertory Theater: http://www.montanarep.org/ - The Rep is the professional theater company in residence at the University of Montana.

The International Wildlife Film Festival: http://www.wildlifefilms.org/ The IWFF has become the premier film venue celebrating wildlife and natural history programming from around the world.

The Historic Wilma Theater: http://www.thewilma.com/ - Missoula's hub for live entertainment, movies and local showcases.

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks: A Touring Shakespearan acting Troup.

Missoula Symphony Orchestra & Chorale: http://www.missoulasymphony.org/ - features over 150 area musicians in several performances each year.

The Missoula Cultural Council: http://www.missoulacultural.org/ - Montana's first local arts agency serving as a resource for the coordination and development of Arts and Culture in Missoula.

The Missoula Art Museum: http://www.missoulaartmuseum.org/ - contemporary visual arts reflecting the history, cultural diversity and issues of Montana.

For a schedule of Missoula's Arts & Cultural Events, visit the Missoula Independent at http://www.missoulanews.com/.