Local artist creates festival logo

Every year the Huckleberry Festival offers artists and novices from around the country the opportunity to submit their vision of the spirit of the Huckleberry Festival for the annual logo design. The winning design is featured on all souvenir clothing, posters, brochures, TV ads and advertisements. The selected artist also receives a $100 award.

Kelley Torquemada is this year's winner. A native Montanan, she currently lives in Trout Creek but began her journey in Missoula, where her parents worked for the Forest Service. After moving around a bit, she ended up in California, but found that living there just wasn't her style. As an adult, she decided it was time to return to Montana and join her family in Trout Creek. In 2013, while in California, Kelley earned her certification to be a massage therapist.

"There is a spiritual gratification in giving a massage that is hard to describe," Torquemada said. "Every person is different, and you develop a special connection in discovering their uniqueness." She has performed massages on everyone from the homeless to movie stars, so she has really fine-tuned her skill on all walks of life.

Torquemada's hobby is painting with acrylics and drawing. Her subjects are usually comic book or video game style scenes and figures. She learned about the logo contest from her mother, Kathy Rodriguez, and decided to enter. She researched past logos and used that as a starting point for her submission. By the time the deadline rolled around, Torquemada had submitted four different logos for this year's contest.

The selection committee received a total of five logos, all by local artists. Once the final design was chosen, Torquemada began working with Festival Chair Debb McNary and James Crowder of Crowder Design, LLC dba Mighty Fine T's, to finalize the 2018 Huckleberry Festival logo.

Torquemada is offering massage services at The Beauty Bar Salon and Spa, owned by Heather Phelps, located in Trout Creek. Her summer special, the body scrub is $30, normally $50.

"I use my personal mixture in my sugar scrubs," Kelley added. You may add a 1-hour massage for only $75, normally $100. For those needing a mini-vacation, try the 90-minute massage for $100, normally $130. Torquemada's hours are Sunday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 4 p,m. You can reach her at her work number, 827-3982.

The start of the 2019 logo contest began on June 15 with a December 15 deadline. The festival encourages everyone, young or old, near and far, from every walk-of-life, to submit their designs to [email protected]. The following criteria need to be met:

Artwork must be original (your design)

Artwork must be photo-ready (.pdf, .cdr, .psd)

Maximum of 4 colors, plus black & white

All historical festival artwork can be viewed at huckleberryfestival.com. For more information, contact Debb McNary at (406) 827-3227.