GREAT FALLS — The annual Greatest Dam Mimosa Showdown returns to Great Falls on Saturday, with more than two dozen locations pouring specialty mimosas from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The event, now in its sixth year, grew out of a 2020 effort to support local businesses during the COVID pandemic.
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"We started this with tourism in 2020 during Covid, as a way to kind of help spark some business during that time. And it really has taken off over the last couple of years," Downtown Great Falls Association Executive Director Kellie Pierce said.
The original idea came from Matthias Schalper and his wife Jolene, owners of Kellergeist, a bar in downtown Great Falls. In the first year, the event operated under pandemic restrictions.
"We were really excited because people showed up. We served from the front door. Nobody could come in because technically, we were still shut down, but people could have them on the street. And we were so excited because we all sold about, you know, 150 mimosas," Jolene Schalper said.
Last year, the Schalpers sold about 1,200 mimosas. They have won the competition 3 times.
This year, Kellergeist is entering a drink called the Rock and Rolla mimosa.
"Fresh ingredients, we use our juices our lemon juices for this. Prime premium ingredients like the simple sirups. We use the Prosecco," Matthias Schalper said.
"Our mimosa is not overly sweet. You should be able to taste the flavors. This year, we've been infusing some vodka with fresh peaches and some vodka with fresh pineapples," Jolene Schalper said.
New this year is a revamped voting system using QR codes at each location.
"It's linked in the maps, online. So each location will have a QR code that you can scan and it'll pop up a map, and then you can go in and vote for your favorite one. And that's how we determine who the best Dam Mimosa winner is," Pierce said.
Participants can also visit the Mimosa Showdown website to preview mimosas and use an interactive map to plan their route to bars, restaurants, and hydration stations.
Great Falls Montana Tourism helps market the event to draw visitors from outside the area.
"We have several target markets that we hit up each year. And then we also populate a website, our landing page, the Mimosa Showdown landing page. Just so people have somewhere to check and look at that list of all the awesome mimosas," Great Falls Montana Tourism Events Coordinator Liz Lauver said.
The showdown has 26 participating locations, with one — The Heidelberg — located outside of downtown. Organizers say keeping the event concentrated downtown is a deliberate safety decision.
"It's kind of just become more of a downtown thing, for safety aspect as well, people, it's easier for them to walk around rather than have mimosas and drive," Pierce said.
Many participants also offer non-alcoholic options, making the event accessible to the broader community.
"Downtown is the heart of a community, and this is one of those events that kicks off the summer, if you will. And it's like, okay, here we go. Now it's a porch season. They get to see all the patios and just enjoy the community with the community," Jolene Schalper said.
This article has been lightly edited with the assistance of AI for clarity, syntax, and grammar.
