PrintNational Day of the American Cowboy
EnlargeThis year marks the sixth year of celebration since President George W. Bush and Congress designated the fourth Saturday of each July National Day of the American Cowboy. This July, that Saturday falls on the 24th, but “Bandera had such a successful event last year that the Cowboy Capital of the World decided to start on Friday this year!” says Bandera, TX, resident Melissa Benge.
Benge, owner of local western boutique Gunslinger of Bandera, says Bandera celebrates its cowboy-ness every day, but the National Day of the American Cowboy is a super-special occasion. The July festivities kick off the night of Friday the 23rd with the South Texas Ranch Rodeo & Dude Ranch Wrangler Championship at Bandera’s Mansfield Park, just north of the city on State Highway 16, at 7 p.m. At the ranch rodeo, working cowboys will enter in teams of five and compete in ranch skills‚ — roping, branding, wild cow milking, bronc saddling, and team roping. Afterward, you can catch Jake Hooker at the 11th Street Cowboy Bar. “But don’t stay out too late,” cautions Benge, “because you’ll want to rise and shine early so that you can mosey down to our beautiful historic courthouse, where cowboy entertainer K.R. Wood will be cooking up a chuck wagon breakfast of sausage, biscuits, and gravy‚ — with plenty of fresh-brewed coffee, of course‚ — at 8 a.m. Saturday out on the courthouse lawn.”
Starting at 10 a.m., the entertainment includes trick ropers, storytellers, musicians, gunfighters, leather carvers, mounted riders, and blacksmiths‚ — and roaming longhorns, too. There will also be stick-horse races, a cow-patty toss, and a children’s dress-up area, along with a “General Store market,” showcasing the works of more than two dozen local artists.
At high noon, the 2010 inductees into the Frontier Times Museum’s Texas Heroes Hall of Honor will be honored, including cowboy poet Red Steagall and Western star Buck Taylor. The fun will last until 4 p.m., reconvening at 6 p.m. at the Frontier Times Ranch Rodeo, again at Mansfield Park. “Escaramuza Charra, of the San Antonio Charro Association, will put on a spectacular show at 7 p.m., and the South Texas Rodeo & Dude Ranch Wrangler Championship will follow,” Benge says. “After the rodeo, the honky-tonks will be hoppin’. Ray Price will be at the 11th Street Cowboy Bar, and of course all of our other venues will offer Bandera live music at its finest.”
And if you can’t make it to Bandera? “Just find a way to get here!” Benge says. But really, if you can’t make it to Bandera this year, “Google other cowboy towns rich in Western history to find out how they celebrate National Day of the American Cowboy!”
National Day of the American Cowboy in Bandera: Events on the courthouse lawn are free. The rodeos, which benefit the Frontier Times Museum, are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 12, and free for kids 5 and under. For more information about Bandera’s National Day of the American Cowboy festivities or advance tickets for the rodeo, call 830.796.4447 or visit www.frontiertimesmuseum.org.
FYI: http://www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com
Issue: July 2010
