Article by Hannah Olson

Photo by Arianna Skoog

The Woman Behind the Crowd 

On any given summer night in downtown Billings, it can feel effortless. Music drifts between buildings. People gather shoulder to shoulder, drinks in hand, laughing, moving, staying longer than they planned. A street that, just hours before, was ordinary suddenly feels alive. But nothing about it is effortless. 

“It’s hard. It doesn’t just happen,” Lexie Mann says. She says it plainly, without complaint. Lexie is the Events Director for the Downtown Billings Alliance (DBA), the person behind the scenes of the city’s most recognizable gatherings. She is the one coordinating details most people never see, making sure that when thousands of people show up, everything works. “I don’t make decisions lightly,” explains Lexie. Because every decision matters. To the businesses. To the vendors. To the volunteers. To the people who show up expecting a good night and leave remembering something more. 

Lexie didn’t grow up in Billings; she is originally from Massachusetts. She studied public history and spent years working in museums before moving to New Orleans. There, she fell into the rhythm of festivals, music, food, and culture that filled the streets every weekend. “I loved the music, the food, the art, the festivals. I was at a festival every weekend,” Lexie says. It was a life built around experience, around people gathering. When she moved to Billings to be closer to family, she wasn’t sure what she would find. But she found downtown. “I fell in love with the organization,” she says. “And downtown is what’s really keeping me here.” 

What It Really Takes 

There are 17 signature events that Lexie plans, organizes, and executes each year, each one with its own logistics, personality, and expectations. Permits, vendors, safety plans, sponsorships, volunteers, weather contingencies, and business coordination. And then there are the things you cannot plan for. “Even though Strawberry Fest has been going for 40 years, it will never be the same because I make adjustments,” she says. That’s part of the work. Paying attention, listening, improving, protecting what people love while making it better. 

“We are a scrappy organization. We kind of do a lot with a little. Last year, we brought about seventy to eighty thousand people downtown just for our events,” Lexie states. That number grows when you consider everything else happening around them. The ripple effect for the restaurants, shops, conversations, and feeling that something is happening here. 

The Stage Is Downtown 

Lexie talks about downtown like it’s something alive. Not just buildings and businesses, but something that needs to be cared for, activated, and protected. “We support the people that live, work, and play down here.” That includes everyone. Business owners, artists, families, visitors, people passing through, and people trying to find their place. And events are the way she brings them together. 

“If your downtown doesn’t do well, then the rest of your city isn’t going to do well.” So she builds moments that make people want to be there. Moments that feel easy, even when they are anything but. 

Alive After Five 

Alive After Five might be the clearest example of that. A summer concert series that fills downtown streets with music and movement, it looks like a simple idea. But it’s not simple. “It’s a truly collaborative event because I’m working with these bars and restaurants.” Lexie leans into that collaboration. The businesses help shape the experience. They know what works. They know the audience. They know the energy. 

“I think the bars have their finger on the pulse when it comes to music.” What comes out of that is something that feels organic, local, owned by the people who are part of it. There’s intention behind even the smallest details. Free water stations, walkability, making sure people can move, gather, and stay. “We offer free water by donation for all of our events during the summer,” Lexie explains. It’s about creating a space where people feel comfortable, safe, and welcome, and then letting the night take over. 

Downtown Mini Golf 

If Alive After Five is about gathering, Downtown Mini Golf is about exploration. Businesses transform themselves into mini golf holes, each one different, each one creative, each one an invitation to step inside.  

“That one’s always so fun. The businesses get super into it,” Lexie describes. It’s playful, but it’s strategic. People move through downtown in a way they normally wouldn’t. They walk into spaces they’ve never noticed. They see what’s there. “They may not buy something that day, but they will come back. And that’s the whole purpose.” It’s not just about the transaction at the moment. It’s about connection. 

Strawberry Festival 

Strawberry Festival is something else entirely. It’s tradition. It’s the event people plan their summer around, the one that feels familiar and new at the same time. 

Lexie is careful with it. “We really try to keep it a true arts and crafts festival.” That matters to her. Supporting artists, makers, and people creating something with their hands. But she’s also thinking about the full experience. “I want you to be downtown all day,” she explains. That means layering the event. Vendors, food, activities, reasons to stay, reasons to wander, reasons to come back next year. 

The Work You Don’t See and Why It Matters 

For every hour an event is happening, there are dozens more that lead up to it. Meetings, calls, spreadsheets, site walks, problem-solving, adjustments. And then there’s safety. “I like to overstack on security. I want to make sure the community feels comfortable,” Lexie emphasizes.There’s a full system behind it. Police presence, private security, outreach teams, and coordination. It’s all designed so people don’t have to think about it and can enjoy themselves. 

And while Lexie is often the one holding the details together, none of it happens alone. The Downtown Billings Alliance team is behind every piece of it, from event planning and communication to safety, development, outreach, and keeping downtown clean and welcoming day in and day out. The streets, the sidewalks, the atmosphere people feel when they arrive, all of it is part of the work. 

In 2025 alone, that work added up to something significant. More than 77,000 people attended DBA events. Three hundred one vendors participated, bringing art, food, and small-business energy into the streets. Alive After Five saw more than 11,500 wristbands purchased. One hundred six parade participants helped fill downtown with movement and celebration. And 124 volunteers showed up to help make it all happen. 

At the center of all of it is something simple. People. “People are engaged with one another. They’re volunteering together,” she describes. Volunteers help make it happen, showing up to support something bigger than themselves, Lexie explains. “Alive After Five is so fun to volunteer at. You get to listen to live music and help out.” But it’s more than that. It’s ownership, pride, and belonging. 

“Support your community. Support your artists, support your makers, support your businesses.” Lexie sees it clearly. The connection between a strong downtown and a strong city lies in how small moments build something bigger over time. “There are really beautiful things happening. Especially downtown.”

Most people won’t know Lexie’s name. They won’t see the hours, decisions, stress, or the constant balancing act. They’ll remember the music, the laughter, the feeling of being part of something. They’ll remember a night that felt easy. A street that felt alive. A city that felt like it belonged to them. And somewhere behind all of that, Lexie is already thinking about the next one, making adjustments, solving problems, building something again from the ground up. Because it doesn’t just happen, but when it works, it feels like it does. 

Originally printed in the June 2026 issue of Simply Local Magazine

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