Wagon Train Feed & Dance on March 9, 50th anniversary trek on the horizon

With the 50th Annual Milk River Wagon Train (MRWT) less than 30-weeks away (and likely 90-degrees warmer than today) the folks in charge of the event are bringing back a tradition that has been missing in Phillips County for the last two-years with the Old Time Feed and Dance.

The 49th Annual Milk River Wagon Train Old Time Feed and Dance will be held on Saturday, March 9, starting at 6 p.m. at the Malta VFW Club after two years without the event taking place.

“Expenses just kept rising and we couldn’t charge enough to cover the cost of the food,” MRWT Secretary Tasha Hines said. “This year, we talked with the (VFW) Club and Jay Southwick agreed to play music this year, and that was another issue we have had in the past was paying for live music.”

With Southwick providing the band, the MRWT folks are keeping their fingers crossed, spending money on the night’s meal more frugally and all the meat for the dinner will be donated from MRWG train members.

“Some things will be a little different, like we won’t have sweet breads, but instead we will be having Rocky Mountain Oysters which will be donated by local butchers,” Hines said. “All the beef will be local, we will have scalloped potatoes, our famous baked beans, a really nice salad with homemade dressing and plenty of homemade buns.”

The tickets for the Old Time Feed and Dance will be available for presale for $12 and available at each of the local banks, as well as being for sale on MRWT’s Facebook page for $13, and, of course, tickets can be purchased the night of the event, at the door, for $15.

The event will also feature live skits with crowd participation as well as an auction (anyone who would like to donate for the night can do so by calling Hines at 654-7157, or dropping the items off at the County Nurses’ office in Malta.) Hines wanted to stress that both the Old Time Dinner and Dance, as well, as the actual Wagon Train in August, are family friendly events so bring the whole crew down for a night of fun and food.

As the weeks roll on, more information for the 50th Annual MRWT will be in the pages of the PCN and on the groups Facebook page. Hines said last year that nearly 60-people attended the event. This year, the sky is the limit for how many people might attend and Hines said people from as far away as Washington and Minnesota have reached out to inquire.

“We are going to have a registration on our Facebook site and we will be sending them out to people by mail in about April,” she said.