Yippie-yi-yo!
Cowboy Days brings the spirit of the Old West to Las Cruces
Capture the nostalgia of the Old West at Cowboy Days in Las Cruces next weekend.
The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s annual event is one of the biggest for the museum.
“It’s a really good family event,” says Craig Massey, communications manager for the museum. “The event really took off when we moved it from the fall to the spring about six or seven years ago.”
The annual event draws about 6,000 visitors, Massey says.
The popular festival is the museum’s annual tribute to the state’s ranching heritage.
Massey says the two-day event is filled with plenty of family-friendly fare.
One of the new activities is Sheep to Shawl. At 10 a.m. March 3, one of the museum’s Debouillet sheep will be sheared.
“The wool will be carded, and then spun by three demonstrators,” he says. “A weaver will then use the yarn from the wool to create a shawl that will be raffled ($1 per ticket).”
The entire process will take about four hours, and the activity will take place inside the museum’s Sheep & Goat Barn.
In addition, the Borderland Pistoleros Cowboy Mounted Shooting group will have competition at the museum’s Roping Arena each day with a session from 10:30 a.m. to noon and one from 3 to 5 p.m.
Another popular activity involving livestock is the Parade of Breeds, which takes place twice each day, at noon and 2 p.m.
The different breeds of beef cattle are brought into the round, and guests can learn about their characteristics and origin.
There will also be a concert and dance by Las Cruces native and country singer Josh Grider.
The cowboy musical performers include Eddy Harrison, Kenny Arroyos, Voz Vaqueros and Tom Foster Morris. Ollie Reed, Stephen Zimmer and Tom Estes of the Western Writers of America also will be on hand to talk about their books and sell and sign copies.
The Cowboy Days CASI (Chili Appreciation Society International) Chili Cook-Off, which debuted last year, will return for both days. Tasting for the public is from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1 to 2 p.m. on March 4 (or until the chili runs out), and the cost for the samples is $5.