EKALAKA — Every summer, in the small eastern Montana town of Ekalaka, the Carter County Museum hosts the Dino Shindig, a four-day event connecting professional paleontologists with community dinosaur enthusiasts. This year marked 13 Dino Shindigs.
Each year, the museum organizers try to make the shindig even bigger than the year prior. For the 13th annual shindig, museum curators believe over 700 people visited Ekalaka for the event.
According to locals, the Dino Shindig is both a social and economic boost to the small community.
Learn more about the long-term benefits of the Dino Shindig below:
For this year’s festivities, the Carter County Museum had various dinosaur-related events including a rodeo, art workshop, and over ten presentations by professional paleontologists.
While Saturday is the busiest day for the Dino Shindig, events continue into Sunday as well. On Sunday, the museum is holding a nature hike at Medicine Rocks State Park and a field expedition where community visitors can dig for real dinosaur bones.
According to the Carter County Museum’s executive director, Dr. Sabre Moore, the museum has been around for 89 years. Moore said next year’s shindig will be even bigger, as the museum will be celebrating its 90th anniversary.
“The museum has really made this community vibrant and exciting,” Moore said.
Moore and the museum’s curator, Dr. Nathan Carroll, were both involved in the creation of the Dino Shindig. On Saturday, the two told MTN that the Dino Shindig brings social and community gathering to Ekalaka, as well as a large financial boost.
“The shindig is one of the biggest economic drivers to Ekalaka all year-round,” said Moore.
According to Moore, the Dino Shindig brings in around $30,000 to Ekalaka throughout the week. She said the museum alone brings in about $1 million each year.
According to the 2020 census, Ekalaka has a population of about 400 residents, meaning the museum’s events bring substantial business to local restaurants, hotels, and shops.
“It really has added a big social event to the middle of the summer that brings in a lot of fun folks that would maybe not... take the route from Highway 7 or 323,” said Carroll. “If you keep dinosaurs here local, we can all enjoy them. People can come in from far away to enjoy them, and they spend money in our restaurants and gas stations.”
Even though the Dino Shindig isn’t the only major event in Ekalaka, for instance, the Days of ’85 Fair and Rodeo, it is famous for bringing in out-of-state residents. During Saturday’s festivities, MTN spoke with three out-of-staters at the Dino Shindig.
Wally Owen, a historian from Medora, North Dakota, said he tries to come to Ekalaka about four times a year.
“This is a really interesting little town,” Owen said.
As a historian, Owen said he likes to research Montana and North Dakota history. Even though he’s a frequent visitor to Ekalaka, Owen said it was his first time at the Dino Shindig.
“First time coming here, highly recommend it. It’s phenomenal,” he said.
Similar to Owen, it was fourth grader, Elliott Fuller’s, first time at the Dino Shindig.
“Definitely come here for the Dino Shindig,” Fuller said.
Fuller and his family stopped at the museum while on a long road-trip from Ohio.
“(My favorite part of the shindig is) I can meet people who share my interests,” he said.
Fuller said he was planning on attending the field exposition on Sunday. MTN asked Fuller what he was looking forward to the most.
“Maybe like, trying to find a T-rex,” he said.
Unlike Owen and Fuller, Iowa resident, Charles "Chuck" Jennissen, said he’s been to six Dino Shindigs at the Carter County Museum.
“It’s such a fun event and there’s not a lot of places like this that have this kind of event where citizen-scientists and people just interested in dinosaurs, can... hear paleontologists” said Jennissen.
Jennissen said while he’s a big dinosaur fanatic, he is a full-time pediatric physician. He said that’s why he appreciates the Dino Shindig. It allows him to interact with paleontologists, who he may not otherwise have an opportunity to talk to about dinosaurs.
“I’ve loved dinosaurs since I was a little kid and never really grew up,” he said. “It's kind of nice when you're a dinosaur enthusiast, and to get the chance to meet the people you've read about."
Overall, while the Carter County museum aims to bring financial support to Ekalaka, the Dino Shindig's goal is to bridge the gap between community dinosaur enthusiasts and professional paleontologists.
Moore and Carroll said it's important to bring academic research to the local community and to inspire future paleontologists.
"I think it's really sharing the research and the scholarship that's come out of this region with people like you and me, with families, with children, and kind of getting that inspirational spark with the next generation," said Moore.
"Having an event like this, it's not just about the dinosaurs. But, it's grown into bat walks at Medicine Rocks State Park, dark sky viewing events... So, it's really a week-long natural history appreciation event," said Carroll.
To learn more about the Carter County Museum and the Dino Shindig, visit this link.
