Why Ennis's 40th Hunters Feed Lands in 2026, and Why Its Date Keeps Moving

The idea for the Hunters Feed goes back to 1985. Last year's Feed was the 39th. So why is the 40th happening on Main Street this October and not last fall?

The answer runs through a Madison County Board of Health vote and a calendar Ennis doesn't control. The Ennis Chamber of Commerce has set the 40th Annual Hunters Feed for Friday, October 23, 2026, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Main Street. The Chamber's own description sets the rule for the date: the Feed is held every year "on the Friday before rifle season opens." Each piece of the event follows from that rule. The date, the edition count and even what lands on the tasting tables all trace back to the general rifle opener and the meat still sitting in local freezers.

The State Sets the Date

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks lists the 2026 general deer and elk season as October 24 through November 29. October 23 is simply the day before. Because the opener moves around the calendar, the Feed moves with it. Here is how that has played out across recent editions:

In the years listed here, the Feed has fallen anywhere from October 20 to October 24, depending on when the state opened rifle season. If you put it on your calendar by memory, check the date every year.

The edition numbers explain the 2026 milestone. If 2017 was the 32nd, then 2018 was the 33rd and 2019 the 34th. Then 2020 dropped out. 2021 picked up as the 35th, 2022 was the 36th, and the count reaches 40 this year. Without the missing year, the 40th would have come in 2025.

A Freezer Problem, Solved on Main Street

The origin story is about storage space. In 2017, Abigail King of the Ennis Chamber told Explore Big Sky that "the idea of having a wild game meat cook-off started back in 1985, after a few local hunters began pondering a way to empty their freezers in preparation for the upcoming hunting season." The Madisonian's 2022 write-up put it the same way, calling the Feed "a means for hunters to clean out their freezers before restocking them with fresh meat."

That's why timing matters. Hold the Feed in August and nobody's freezer needs clearing. Hold it after the opener and the deadline has already passed. The day before rifle season is the one afternoon when last year's elk, deer, birds and duck all need a use at once.

The menu reflects it. Past entries listed in the 2017 coverage included moose chili, game bird carbonara, tequila elk chili, elk fajitas, duck stroganoff and bear pizza. That year King also previewed smoked deer sausage jambalaya, venison taco soup and Polish hunter's elk sausage. According to King, some dishes became popular enough that cooks started sharing the recipes.

The Year It Didn't Happen

In October 2020, the Madison County Board of Health unanimously denied the Chamber's plans for that year's Feed. At the time, the county had restricted events over 50 people because its capacity for COVID-19 contact tracing was limited. The Chamber had planned to spread the tables down Main Street, but the board was concerned about large crowds at an event built around sampling food.

"It's a logistical nightmare from a contact tracing standpoint," Madison County Public Health Nurse Melissa Brummell told The Madisonian. Board member Dayna Thergensen said, "I don't see how this can be done safely during this pandemic."

In its cancellation notice, the Chamber thanked supporters, congratulated that year's poster contest winner and said it looked forward to the next Feed. That skipped October is why this year's anniversary falls in 2026.

What a Full Main Street Looks Like

The best measure of the event's size comes from comparing two years. In 2017, cooks were told to "be prepared to feed as many as 500 people." Five years later, at the 36th Feed, then-Executive Director Adrienne Goldsworthy counted more than that: "Thirty five tasting stations, five judges and over 600 tasters." The first Feed after the cancellation to get a full write-up came in above the old planning number.

The 2022 winners show the range of what cooks bring:

• Best Chili: Stacy Shroeder, Cd Spring Elk Chili
• Most Unique: Venison stuffed shells with huckleberry sauce
• Best Non Chili Dish: McAllister Steakhouse, Duck Ala Ennis

Restaurants and home cooks enter side by side. That year a home cook's elk chili and a McAllister restaurant's duck dish each took a category.

Some cooks also stretch the definition of "local." For about a decade, Kenny Joffrion, known around the Feed as "Kajun Kenny," brought Louisiana meat and seafood to Ennis and served jambalaya, fried catfish, frog legs, gumbo, turtle soup and alligator. In 2017, the event was still billed as a celebration of fall. "While summer is great, many get excited with the change of season," King said. "This event is just another way to celebrate fall."

Friday, October 23, in Order

The afternoon follows a set sequence that has held steady in recent listings:

1. 3 to 5 p.m., Main Street. Tasting and public voting at the cooks' tables.
2. About 5:15 p.m., Willie's Distillery. Awards.
3. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Willie's Distillery. The Critter Call Competition, billed this year as the 11th annual.
4. Evening. Live music on Main Street, with shop specials also on the Chamber's schedule.

The Critter Call is an animal-call contest for kids and adults, with five categories: big game, waterfowl and upland bird, predator, barnyard animal, and "other." Outside Bozeman listed the 2022 contest as the seventh annual, which lines up with this year's count of eleven.

Willie's Distillery, at 312 E Main Street, was founded in 2012 by Willie and Robin Hensley Blazer and describes itself as independently owned and operated. Moving the awards there gives the afternoon a second gathering spot once the tables on Main Street pack up.

If You're Cooking This Year

The Chamber invites "chefs of all abilities" and has posted the entry form for wild game dishes on its Hunters Feed page. In 2023, the cook registration deadline was 4 p.m. on the Wednesday before the Feed. The Chamber hasn't published a 2026 deadline, so treat that as a guide and register early.

The 2023 format, as NBC Montana described it, had three categories: best chili, best non-chili and most unusual. There was also a best-overall trophy, and attendees did the voting. The Feed is free to attend. Sales of shirts, bow-raffle tickets and 50/50 raffle tickets help support it. Since 2022 brought more than 600 tasters, plan your batch size for a crowd that size and not for a dinner party.

The 2026 Chamber page also lists local sponsors, including D&D Tire Supply, NAPA Auto Parts, D&D Auto, Deemos, The Madison Range and Mountain Splendor.

The Weekend the Feed Kicks Off

Opener weekend has drawn hunters to the valley for a long time. In 2014, The Madisonian reported that 656 hunters passed through the Cameron check station on opening weekend, up from 548 the year before. Some came from as far as North Dakota, Minnesota and California. Those figures are more than a decade old, but they show the scale of the opener the Feed is timed around.

After rifle season gets going, Main Street's next two dates are Shop Small Weekend on November 27 and 28 and the Spirit of Christmas Stroll on Friday, December 4, from 3 to 7 p.m. Shop Small includes a Passport Challenge: a $5 donation to a local charity gets you a passport, shops stamp it when you visit or buy, and the passports with the most stamps are entered in a prize drawing.

The Chamber's event page is a live listing, so check it for any changes before October 23. The 40th Feed is set for 3 p.m. that Friday on Main Street, the afternoon before the 2026 general deer and elk season opens.

If you're bringing a pot of elk chili to Main Street this year and wondering what that kind of fall means for your own property, Jenny Rohrback knows how hunting access, acreage and seasonal routines shape value across the Madison Valley. Request your personalized Madison Valley market valuation, and we can talk through what your place is worth before opener weekend.