Forget Me Knot Festival

After the floods of 2022, business owners in Cooke City and Silver Gate rallied together. They formed several think tanks to generate ideas for establishing the area as a destination. Typically, summer visitors consider the towns a base camp for exploring Yellowstone or a pass-through to the Beartooth Highway.

The result was the "Forget Me Knot Festival," a three-day music festival with arts and crafts and a Sunday brunch. "We were throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall, and this is what stuck," event organizer Paige Hood said. The event was such a success; year two is already in the works. "It was really nice," Hood said, "It was very peaceful, and a lot of people from Red Lodge came, which was great."

The event drew around 700 people, and organizers gave free tickets to service industry professionals in town who could only attend part of the festival due to work commitments. Some of the proceeds are going toward next year's festival, but the remaining $10,000 is available for the community to decide how to use the funds best.

This year's festival will take place August 16-17. Watch their website and Facebook page for the latest on the 2024 music lineup! Forgetmeknotfest.org.