Event details 2007 Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch www.CowboyPoetry.com

Kamloops Cowboy Festival March 8, 9,10 & 11 2007
Celebrating Our Western Heritage in Art, Poetry, Music and Film.
Honouring those who have blazed the trails we follow.

The Hottest Ticket in Canada’s Original Cowtown! With three tour buses booked out of Alberta in addition to 240 weekend passes already sold, this years Kamloops cowboy festival is on track to shatter all pervious attendance records. Local Hotels are already booking up with guests from as far away as Nova Scotia and Oklahoma with 85% of advance ticket sales and reservations coming from outside the Kamloops area!

Over the last ten years the Kamloops Cowboy Festival has built a solid reputation as one of the best Western Heritage events in the world and lovers of cowboy poetry, western art and music, continue to flock here in ever increasing numbers.

BC Cowboys Hall Of Fame and Western Heritage Awards

The BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductions, take place in conjunction with our Friday Night Feature Concert March 9, 2007, in Calvary Community Church. This year’s inductees include;

Reg Hook and Family, Reg, was a very respected rancher, stockman and pioneer rodeo contractor, his sons and grandsons also distinguished themselves in the rodeo arena and ranching industry. ( Harley was twice Canadian Calf Roping Champion)
The Grinders, Floyd, and Roy and their father Henry, Cowboys to the bone!
Harry Mariott, rancher and author from Big Bar near Clinton.
Ray Thompson, Rancher and Horseman from Big Creek are in the Chilcotin.

The Joe Marten Memorial Award for The Preservation of Western Heritage The mandate for the BC Cowboy Heritage Society is to Promote and Preserve Cowboy Heritage in the Province of British Columbia. To help accomplish this, a new award was started in October 2006 in memory of the late Joe Marten. It is to be awarded to someone who has been influential in the promotion and/or preservation of Cowboy / Western Heritage in the Province of BC who is not a rancher or working cowboy.

This years recipients are;

Tony Parrott, Master saddle and harness maker. Tony is one of the most respected leather craftsmen in North America , he will receive his award during the Friday night Feature show.
Paul St Pierre, One of Canada’s most popular newspaper columnists and authors , paul is also a former member of Parliament and a true pioneer of television writing. Paul created and wrote the “Cariboo Country” Television Series for CBC back in the early 1960’s. This was a groundbreaking body of work in so many ways. It was the first truly Canadian TV Series. It was the first film production of any kind to use all Native Indian actors to play the Native Indian roles. It introduced audiences to a number of Canadian artists including Chief Dan George! Most importantly, it captured the character and essence of Canadian Ranchers, Cowboys and Indians, in a manner never equalled by any film production since! Paul St Pierre will be our guest of honour throughout the weekend.

New For The 2007 Kamloops Cowboy Festival:

The Western Film Festival, is a brand new feature at this years Cowboy Festival. In addition to a selection of Classic Hollywood Westerns, we will be showing episodes of Paul St Pierres’s Cariboo Country TV Series. These episodes have been liberated from the CBC’s vault in Toronto and transferred to DVD especially for this event. This will be the first opportunity for anyone anywhere to view these episodes in more than thirty years!

Country 103 Rising Star Show Case; Thanks to the generous support of Kamloops ‘ newest Radio Station CJKC Country 103. We will be hosting a competition for emerging artists throughout the weekend. Western Singers and Cowboy Poets will compete for a total of $4,000 in prize money, with the winners to be selected during the Sunday Afternoon Feature Performance March 11, 2007.

Country 103 Professional Development Workshops; Also Sponsored by CJKC Country 103, we will feature an expanded program workshops designed for entertainers artists and the general public, in areas such as; songwriting, yodelling, flat picking(guitar), poetry writing, promotion tips for emerging artists, hat care…

ALCAN Western Art Show, Presented by ALCAN (The Aluminium Company of Canada) As an added attraction for 2007 The Kamloops Cowboy Festival will feature a juried Western Art Show in addition to an expanded Western Art and Gear Trade show.

The addition of a juried art show should attract a broader selection of well known international artists.

Kick Off Party and After Hour Jam Sessions –* VIP Parties* Thursday Night March 8, 2007, from 7:00 Pm to Midnight there will be a get acquainted party and jam session in Forsters Dinner Theatre. There will be a jam session and After Hours Party in the same location Friday and Saturday Night after the feature concerts. These VIP party events are open only to: sponsors, entertainers, exhibitors and weekend pass holders. There will be no tickets sold or available to the general public for these events.

Kamloops Symphony Orchestra hosts Cowboy Celtic. March 9 &10 2006, This will be Cowboy Celtic’s first ever symphonic collaboration. It is also the first time the KSO has collaborated with the Kamloops Cowboy Festival, although it won’t be their first cowboy symphony (They pioneered the concept with Ian Tyson 18 years ago.) The two concerts will be held in Sagebrush Theatre. Tickets available through Kamloops live Box office. 1-866-374-5483 Or (250) 374-548 This event is not covered by The Cowboy Festival Weekend pass.

For lists of Cowboy Festival; entertainers, exhibitors, performance schedules and further details on the best little Cowboy Fest in the whole darn West drop into our website www.bcchs.com email mikepuhallo@direct.ca

or phone toll free within Canada 1-888-763-2224 from the USA call 1-250-579-5667

BCCHS, box 137, Kamloops BC, Canada V2C 5K3