Honour heritage by celebrating at the Yorkton Cowboy Festival

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

It is time once again to pay tribute to the ranching culture and heritage by celebrating at the third annual Yorkton Cowboy Festival. The event honours the skills, interests and horsemanship of the working cowboy.

The festival will be held on the Yorkton Exhibition Grounds at the west entrance to the City of Yorkton from Friday, August 10 to Sunday, August 12.

The festival began in order to commemorate western heritage and culture that has been passed down from previous generations. The festival is also intended to further the development of a “ranch culture” and to foster the spirit of living in the Yorkton area, as well as to attract tourists and economic activity to the region.

“Looking back into our history prior to the traditional grain farming era, ranching and the life of a working cowboy were the original beginnings of agriculture in Saskatchewan,” stated Naomi Paley, Livestock Development Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. “The festival is an event that highlights this history and heritage.”

“In the last five or so years, we have seen a lot of new families with ranching backgrounds moving to the east-central region of the province from Alberta or British Columbia. We wanted to create an event to not only celebrate ranching, but to welcome these new individuals and to help integrate them into the community,” added Paley.

“The Cowboy Festival is a way for new people to come together with local people and help them feel like they are at home here,” she said.

This year’s event brings a few added bonuses to the traditional festival. The Friday night event features not only western music but also cowboy poetry, with western singer, entertainer and cartoon artist Ben Crane headlining.

An artist with multiple talents, Ben Crane comes from the Alberta ranchlands just east of Rocky Mountain House.

“His love for the west country and the outdoors comes through not only in his music, but in his artwork as well,” said Paley. “He is a western cartoonist, and his musical stylings include traditional country with hints of bluegrass, jazz, blues and swing.”

A number of other artists, including Jake Peters, Morley Thorpe and Doris Bircham, will be performing as well.

Adding to the fun is another new event. A chore team competition will be taking place Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

“This event is a real crowd-pleaser, featuring teams of working chore horses. Teamsters will guide their horses through an obstacle course consisting of tasks that a working team would encounter as part of a day’s work. So far, we have seen a lot of interest for this event, so there should be a good turnout,” stated Paley.

Both heavy and light chore teams will compete and will be judged on accuracy and time. Awards will follow the show.

The festival is open to the public, and all ages are encouraged to attend. The event is unique in that it portrays the everyday working rancher in an accurate light. Attendees will experience what takes place on an actual ranch.

“The events in the ranch rodeo are very much fashioned after everyday events that working cowboys or cowgirls would do on their farms or ranches. Not a lot of people get to see that anymore, so it is very interesting,” said Paley.

The event runs the entire weekend. No admission will be charged on Sunday.

For more information on the Yorkton Cowboy Festival, visit www.yorktoncowboyfestival.com or call the festival office at (306) 782-2108.

For more information, contact:

Naomi Paley, Livestock Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Telephone: (306) 786-1686