Wildlife West presents weekly chuckwagon dinners

The Cowboy Chuckwagon Barbeques and Western Music concerts have returned at Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood. The popular weekly Saturday night stage show runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and will be presented every Saturday through Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2.

Returning this summer are the fast-paced Watermelon Mountain Jug Band and Higher Ground. Award-winning singer Syd Masters will perform at the Chuckwagon during the Annual Edgewood Music and Arts Festival on Friday, July 28. New Mexico Magazine reported that Masters is “a southwestern music icon and luminary of Cowboy Americana!” All ages love to kick-up their heels on the dance floor near the stage.

Just before the show starts, a special free-flight Peregrine Falcon demonstration will be presented by world-renowned falconer Tom Smylie. The audience will experience these magnificent birds close up and learn how the fastest raptor on earth survives in the wild. A puppet show, created by youth, tells a fun and heart-warming story of other animals in the park.

Come early, enjoy a hayride and get a rare opportunity to be close to wildlife in their natural habitat. The Wildlife West zoo is home to 20 species of native wildlife, including two young cougars that can be seen close up perched on their cat tree.

Chuckwagon dinner shows are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, $12 for children 5-11 years and kids 4 and younger are free. Reservations are required by 2 p.m. on the day of the show. Events are presented in a covered all-weather amphitheater in an old west atmosphere.