Category: Wyoming Woman & Family Magazine

WY WOMEN & FAMILY: Big Horn Basin Folk Festival Family Entertainment August 4&5, Thermopolis

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KIDS ACTIVITIES AND GHOST STORIES AT THE BIG HORN BASIN FOLK FESTIVAL, THERMOPOLIS AUGUST 4&5

For more information:  bighornbasinfolkfestival@gmail.com

The Fourth Annual Big Horn Basin Folk Festival is coming up soon. The festival is part of the Gift of the Waters Pageant Days week-end, Saturday and Sunday, August 4 and 5, 2018, in Hot Springs State Park, Thermopolis, Wyoming. The festival program includes a robust line-up of activities for the whole family, along with Wyoming’s own artists, craftsmen, musicians, storytellers, artisan and guild members’ demonstrations.

“There will be a variety of art and music activities for kids and the whole family to choose from on both days”, according to Festival Committee head Toddi Darlington. “You can pick up a schedule at the festival and find exact times and locations”. Activities on Saturday include Sun Fabric art and owl rock painting in the Kids Being Creative Activity Tent plus the Color Thermopolis Mural,  roping, and a singalong with V, the Gypsy Cowbelle with handmade instruments on The Green. The Buffalo Steel Drum band will be playing too. Ghost Stories at The Pavilion start around 7:30pm, after the Pageant.

On Sunday, there will be additional activities in the Kids Being Creative Activity Tent, including Sallie Wesaw and Friends with hands-on iris basket making — plus there will be demonstrations and storytelling on both days around the festival that will be for the whole family to enjoy. Food will be available both days.

Miss V, Gypsy Cowbelle photo courtesy Big Horn Basin Folk Festival committee

The festival is part of the Gift of the Waters Pageant Days weekend. The Pageant tells how the hot springs were transferred to the state by the Native Americans on the Wind River Reservation. It will be performed starting at 6 pm in the area around the Big Spring Saturday and Sunday evening, and is free and open to the public. T-Shirts for both the Folk Festival and the Pageant are available to buy in advance at Thermopolis Print Zone/Discover Thermopolis, 521 Broadway.

The Big Horn Basin Folk Festival is open to the public without charge. It is sponsored by Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation, Kiwanis International and Hot Springs State Park with support from National Endowment of the Arts, Wyoming Arts Council, IMtour, Wyoming Independent Music Initiative and Hot Springs Travel & Tourism. Additional support is from Hot Springs County Education Endowment, Las Fuentes, Thrivent Financial and Pinnacle Bank.

Contact  bighornbasinfolkfestival@gmail.com  for more details.

Roping is one of the fun family activities available at the Big Horn Basin Folk Festival August 4&5 in Thermopolis. Photo courtesy BHBFF committee

Pioneer Museum’s Sheep Shearing Day in Lander

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Pioneer Museum Sheep Shearing Day — A Wonderful Woolly Day!

text & images courtesy Pioneer Museum, Lander

On the prettiest day of the spring so far, over 300 people came out to Lander’s Pioneer Museum to celebrate the history and heritage of the sheep industry in Fremont County and have fun.

It was the third annual Sheep Shearing Day, which has been a popular spring event at the museum. Designed to recognize the long history of the sheep industry in the area, there were shearing demonstrations, crafts for kids, a petting zoo, horseback rides and talks on the history of sheep. Sponsored by the Lander and Riverton McDonalds, it was the first Kids Exploration program of the summer.

A new addition this year were lamb burgers grilled up by the Fremont County Pioneer Association. The lamb was provided by the Wyoming Wool Growers Association (WWGA), and was a huge hit with people.

Amy Hendricks of the WWGA said one of their missions was to get people more aware of how important the sheep industry still is to Wyoming’s economy. The fresh lamb is just one product produced in the state by the industry.

John Farr of Encampment did several talks on the history of the sheep business from the time of Christ to the present. “What a wonderful event,” he said. “It’s a great way to get young people involved in our history.”

According to Museum Curator Randy Wise, Sheep Shearing Day will be back. “We are always adding new things and making it a bigger, better event.” Wise said that there are many events throughout the summer at the museum, from Treks and Speakers to kids exploration programs. Two upcoming events for kids are Kids Gold Panning Day May 11, and Pioneer Arts and Crafts June 10.

Call the museum to sign up (space in the two kid’s program is limited) or check the museum website www.fremontcountymuseums.com for more information.