Hi. Several of us seem to get a little lost looking for specifics in the past threads, so I gathered a little bit to put in here:

Actual event is, from LEJ's original posting: I have a friend in Columbus Montana who has been running a small summer festival called " The Musician's Rendezvous" for about 9 years. It takes place about 50 miles west of Billings, in a 35 acre park called Itch-Ke-Pe on the banks of the Yellowstone. It features Traditional music of all kinds, with camping space available for 3,000 people. The festval is slated for the weekend of August 14, and will feature camping, informal music jams, available trout fishing, and a performance stage at another nearby park.

About the park, courtesy of Alice in Montana:

Here is more specific info on the park at Columbus.

Itch-Kep-Pe Park

Directions:

South of Columbus on Montana Highway 78. The city (!population just over a thousand) of Columbus is north of the Yellowstone River,continue traveling south and right before crossing the Yellowstone River, you will find Itch-Kep-Pe Park.

Camp Sites: 30
Trailers: Yes
Toilets: Yes
(oh, good)
Water: Yes
Boat Launch: Yes
Fishing: Yes
Swimming: Yes
Stay Limit: 14 days

Season of Operation: 4/1-10/31

On the Montana Travel website, you will see the tourist bureau has divided the state into different regions they have named (for marketing purposes, of course). Billings is in "Custer Country" and Columbus is in "Yellowstone Country".

Hotels & motels in the small towns along the way, courtesy of Alice:

The Murray - Livingston
Absarokee - Stillwater Lodge
Big Timber - Super 8
Columbus (where the event actually is) - Super 8, Git's Big Sky Motel, Riverside Cabins, Super 8 Townhouse Inn
Laurel - Best Western, Laurel Ridge, Russell Motel, Welcome Travelers
Billings is much larger & has more choices.

At one point, we were all supposed to email LEJ so he could tell his friend how many of us to expect. At last count it's about twenty. Any more brave souls, who want to brag, NEXT YEAR, about having been to the Very First, Original MUDSTOCK99 should let him know at radioshack@wcox.com

Hope this helps....now I've got to make sure there is a cushy bed with hot & cold running water with MY name on it:-)!

katlaughing