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Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering July 18 - 20, 2008
Living history, stick-horse rodeo, music and poetry on tap
Ranked in the TOP 5 Cowboy Gatherings in the USA by True West Magazine
ENCAMPMENT, WY - The Fifth Annual Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering
will be held July 18 - 20, 2008 in Encampment, Wyoming, with activities ranging from
a stick horse rodeo and melodrama to cowboy music and poetry.
The Cowboy Gathering begins Friday evening, July 18, with a cowboy shootout performed at 6 p.m. by The Gunslingers. This comedy performance about the old west is followed by a melodrama presented by the Grand Encampment Opera Company, which fills the historic opera house to capacity every year. After the melodrama, singers, poets and musicians are invited to the Campfire Jam at Grand View
Park. All of these events are free and open to the public.
Saturday's Stick Horse Rodeo is followed by the Grand Encampment Museum Historic activities, book signings, and a BBQ lunch provided by the local Lion's Club. After lunch, an open mic session of poetry and music.
The ticketed evening performance on at 7 pm in the Encammpment School Gym on Saturday, July 19, features Canadian Cowgirl Poet, Doris Daley, Texas singer/songwriter Mike Blakely and rounding out the Saturday evening's entertainment, Snake River Valley's own Jake Fleming. Members receive a ticket with their membership and additional tickets are $15.
On Saturday, July 14 events begin at The Grand Encampment Museum with a book signing
at 10 a.m. The Cowboy Outfit will hold the annual Stick Horse Rodeo for kids of all ages
beginning at 11 a.m., at Grand View Park in Encampment, cowboy music and poetry will be
presented on the stage in Grand View Park beginning at 11:45 a.m. with performances by
Darrin Little, Steve Moulton, Yvonne Hollenbeck, the Encampment Community Choir and
the night show entertainers. The Encampment-Riverside Lions Club will serve lunch
at the park beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Following evening events informal music and poetry jam sessions will be held by the
campfire in Grand View Park. Anyone interested in sharing music or a poem is
encouraged to attend.
On Sunday, July 20, events include a cowboy breakfast to be from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on the
museum grounds and Cowboy Church at 10 a.m., followed by a poetry workshop, "West Word, HO!" conducted by Doris Daley. AND the continuation of The Grand Encampment Museum Living History Days until 5 p.m. Reenactors will be
on hand in the museum’s buildings that include a one room school, print shop, tie hack
cabin, homesteader’s house, and livery stable.
The Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering is organized by ranchers, musicians, poets and
writers living in the area as a way to help preserve and promote ranching and cowboy
culture and lifestyle. It is co-sponsored by the Grand Encampment Museum with
assistance from the Town of Encampment, Town of Riverside and many businesses
and individuals in the Platte Valley.
Photo: Wyoming Travel & Tourism
For more information on the 2008 Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering contact
1-888-828-8855 or www.grandencampmentgathering.org. |
