A cabin on the backroads of Bigfork has turned into a space for new and old performers to share their passion with the community on a small stage.

Stephanie Barrett Pointer has owned Clementine’s Cabin for 15 years. An artist by background, Pointer said since she bought the space, it’s been used as an art supply shop, a destination for weddings and a place to host talks. But once a month, Pointer uses the space for a community open mic night, where artists have the opportunity to bring whatever talent they hope to share to the wooden walls of the cozy cabin. And the last show of this season in the cabin is set for Saturday, Oct. 29.

“It’s really not like most open mics where people are in the bar scene,” Pointer said. “It’s not noisy and people really listen, and that can be a little bit difficult for some performers because people are actually listening to them instead of just being background sound.”

She said the quiet stage has become a place for regulars to bring their talent in front of their community, but also highlights unexpected newcomers with talents of all sorts. In the 15 years the stage has been open once a month, Pointer said she’s lost track of the variety of performances.

“I call this place a flexible space. And I have had everything in here,” she said. “Cloggers who brought their own wood, a bagpiper, a young Elvis impersonator. I haven’t had any magicians, but that would be great.”

Walking into the cabin feels like you’re entering a family’s rustic great room. Mismatched couches and wooden tables are scattered throughout the large room. Pointer’s personal paintings hang on the walls, mixed with some other local work. A fireplace is on one side of the room and a large professional kitchen takes over the back section of the first floor.

The open stage event typically starts at 7 p.m., and in the back kitchen Pointer pulls together a vegetarian meal for hungry guests willing to pay. Her favorite fall meal is chili with oven-roasted squash and homemade cornbread. Dinner is $14 in cash and dessert is $7.

Performers enter the stage in the order they signed up as the crowd digs into the food. Each person is given 15 minutes, whether they have a book, guitar or piece of art in hand.

“I think the environment has made it kind of a niche event for a group of regulars, but everyone is so open and excited for new performers to arrive, and we take anyone,” Pointer said.

Catherine Haug can’t remember the first night she discovered the Clementine’s Open Stage, but her relationship with the community began when she saw her new neighbors moving chairs into the cabin down the street.

“I finally poked my head in the door to see what was going on,” Haug said. “I had grown up in Bigfork and just returned home, and I hadn’t heard of something like this here before. I’ve been going for more than a decade now.”

Haug said she watched the event shift from mainly musicians to comedians and writers. She said while the event feels homey, it’s attracted performers from afar — from Hot Springs choir students looking for extra experiences to the lead singer of Yes, an English rock band that gained a following in London in 1968 that seeped into America (and are on the 2017 list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

“We even had one man who played his music with his back facing us because he was so nervous and that calmed him down,” she said. “And I can tell you we payed attention every time and clapped even when he never turned around. Another older man used to come who couldn’t sing a note, but we loved him and he loved to perform.”

After a few times of visiting the event, Haug said she began to perform.

A writer, Haug said sometimes she brings poetry to read if the line to perform isn’t too long. Sometimes she brings a clip of her own work to share.

“Sometimes I share a piece of my childhood memoir of growing up in Bigfork, or about my adulthood in Oregon,” she said. “Depending on the night, I may even read about the time I was arrested for swimming naked in a hot springs in my early 50s. Who knows, anything goes here.”

Clementine’s Cabin is located at 265 Bridge St. in Bigfork. The next Open Stage will be Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. Call 406-837-6309 to reserve dinner and/or sign up to perform.

For more information, visit www.clementinescabin.com.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.