“To Do” List

1. Attend the Christmas Stroll downtown tomorrow!

2. Take a look at AJ Tooley’s video entry and help him win $25K!

3. Plan your holiday TV viewing - classic TV shows and movies, plus some more modern fare.

4. Sign up to be a volunteer judge at the high school debate tourney!

5. Help the Landon family by attending a spaghetti dinner and silent auction tomorrow! “Boo” Landon and his three kids lost everything in a fire a few weeks ago, so the benefit at the Sand Coulee Fire Hall is designed to help the family get back on their feet.

November 30, 2007 | Filed Under kids, events, civics, media | Leave a Comment

Snow Falling

I know that there are a few former residents of Great Falls who check in periodically, so this little video might cheer them up a bit - especially if they are trapped in non-snow places such as Miami, Phoenix, or San Antonio. I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of the country club on Tuesday, transfixed by the falling snow, listening to music that perfectly captures the pre-Christmas atmosphere.

“Christmas Time Is Here” from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

November 29, 2007 | Filed Under weather | 1 Comment

Debate Volunteers Needed!

Originally posted over at Electric City Weblog:

CMR is hosting the Electric City Invitational speech and debate tournament December 7-8, 2007 and is in real need of volunteers to judge the tournament. You don’t need any special skills or experience except the willingness to listen to student speeches or debates and choose the ones you feel do the best job. We need 93 judges per round and are having some difficulty filling that need. The rounds of competition are Friday December 7th at 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00 PM, and Saturday December 8th at 8:00, 10:00 AM, 12:00 noon, 1:30 and 3:00 P.M.for speech and debate events. The rounds are approximately an hour and a half, and we will have hot coffee, soda, and snacks for all of the volunteers. Please call Teresa Lang-Court at 231-9379 or email Tom Cubbage (tom_cubbage@gfps.k12.mt.us) with the time and day you can help.

I’ve judged a few debate tourneys, and it is really a great experience - these are smart kids, and it’s invigorating to see them put their wits and public speaking skills on display.

November 28, 2007 | Filed Under education | 1 Comment

Snowy Day

Wasn’t today great? The mid-day snow was just beautiful.

November 27, 2007 | Filed Under weather | Leave a Comment

Help AJ Win!

Great Falls’ very own AJ Tooley has created a clever video as an entry in a Home Depot gift card contest. Check it out:

Read The Whole Thing >>>

November 26, 2007 | Filed Under blogging, people | 1 Comment

About GreaterFalls.com

Welcome to folks who are visiting for the first time! Thanks for taking the time to stop by. In a nutshell, GreaterFalls.com is my online fan club for Great Falls. This website is a “web-log,” commonly referred to as a “blog.” It’s a regularly updated online journal of people, places, events, and news in Great Falls.

Take a look around via the Archives, which are organized by month (such as September 2005, May 2006, and October 2007), or use the Tags to view categories such as Civics, Animals (lots of geese!), Media, Events, Business, Weather, and Kids.

And don’t forget to check out all of the other Great Falls bloggers!

You can stay up to date with GreaterFalls.com in several ways:
- add this site to your Bookmarks or Favorites
- add it to your Feed Reader
- subscribe either via e-mail or via Feedburner.
- check out the GreaterFalls MySpace page, or Facebook fan club, or Blogger page

Again, thanks for visiting GreaterFalls.com!

November 25, 2007 | Filed Under blogging | Leave a Comment

Ready to Stroll?

Wouldja believe that we’re only a few days away from the annual Christmas Stroll (aka Downtown Stroll or Holiday Stroll)? If you’ve been here for at least a few years, you know how fun The Stroll is; if you’re new to Great Falls, this is one of the “must see” events. Basically, it’s a huge street party in downtown Great Falls.

Here’s what happens: downtown is blocked off along Central Avenue, from the Civic Center to about sixth street, and vendors set up booths to sell crafts, food, and decorations, and the downtown merchants are all open and usually offering some great holiday deals. There are also some fun activities - such as the “Polar Plunge” last year that saw local civic leaders and media folks taking a freezing-cold dunk to raise money for Special Olympics.

This year’s Stroll is on Saturday, December 1, from 11 am until 7 pm, and the theme is “Through A Child’s Eyes.” The theme is featured on unique “stroll buttons” that you can purchase from many downtown merchants (such as Amazing Toys, where I saw them today); each button enters you to win a prize package. This year there are three designs:

One more thing: be sure to bundle up - tradition dictates that it is COLD at the Christmas Stroll, and the forecast right now is calling for a high temp of 23 degrees next Saturday.

See you at the Stroll!

By the way - since publicity for this year’s Stroll seems to be a bit subdued (the DGFA website is…um…lame), please go ahead and e-mail this entry to other folks around town - help get the word out!

November 24, 2007 | Filed Under events, civics | 4 Comments

Holiday Cheer

First, happy post-Thanksgiving to everyone - hope you had a great holiday and enjoyed the day. But now that “Turkey Day” is over, it’s time to get serious about Christmas: the seasonal music has begun playing on local radio stations, many stores will be open early on Friday, and the Christmas rush has kicked off on many TV stations.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has compiled a monster list of all the TV Christmas specials and movies, including classics such as “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as well as newer fare such as “Elf” and “Mary Christmas.”

Local shops opening early include Old Navy (5 am), Target (6 am), and JC Penney (4 am!).

So I have two questions: what holiday movies or TV shows are you MOST looking forward to, and how many of you plan to take advantage of the Friday-morning sales?

November 22, 2007 | Filed Under shopping, media | 7 Comments

First Snow Of…?

Take a look at these two pictures from today’s Tribune (click the larger one to see it full-size):

Notice anything wrong? Yep - both captions state that it was the first snow of the year…but according to my calendar, the first snow of 2007 occurred way back on January 6th. That would make this week’s snowfall the…what…maybe the 14th or 23rd snow of the year?

I’m sure they meant that it was the first snow of the season, but hey…they were only off by nearly eleven months.

November 21, 2007 | Filed Under media, weather | 8 Comments

All iPod

Greetings to folks who are visiting courtesy of the Great Falls Tribune “Fusion” article about MP3 players! Stacy Byrne did a neat job reporting on the popularity of the tiny players, and my love of all things iPod. It’s true: I succumbed to the Apple mystique a couple of years ago, and my appreciation for the iPod (in several forms: Shuffle, Nano, Touch) has only grown since then.

Last month, Janna won an iPod Shuffle here at GreaterFalls.com in a great photo contest…and December is a great time to have another Shuffle giveaway…if you have any ideas for a contest, let me know.

UPDATE:

If you are going to buy an iPod (for yourself or as a gift), and you enjoy GreaterFalls.com, please consider shopping via the Amazon links below; it will likely save you a few dollars, and will help to support GreaterFalls.com. Thanks!

November 20, 2007 | Filed Under internet, media | 4 Comments

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