Become a fan!

Blacksmith Mark "Wishbone" Birdsall:

Wishbone will entertain the whole family with stories and humor of the West as he pounds out horseshoes and puts your kids' names on them (for a small fee.) See blacksmithing as it has always been done- with a hot fired forge, an anvil and a lot of sweat equity.

Known by his moniker “Saddle Serenader”, Michael has performed throughout the West entertaining at

many of the most popular gatherings. For more than a decade,Michael has been singing songs on

horseback while greeting guests at the prestigious Santa Clarita Cowboy Gathering. A talented and polished performer,

Michael brings a rare authenticity to any western event.

Biskit Saddle Arts, Wade "Biskit" Hatch:

"Break Away to the Freedom Trail," reveals the 3-step system ─ Exit, Evaluate and Energize ─ Hatch developed 10 years ago that has allowed him to live out his biggest lifetime dreams and ambitions. His entertaining, interactive talk deals with meeting the challenges we all face from day to day, and his energetic, down-home style will motivate you to take action right now.

Don't miss his seminar in the Mojave Room at the Western Design Expo...and check out his hand-carved leather picture frames display at Mercantile Row during WestFest.

http://www.biskitsaddle.com/

Click here for an article on Wade

The Buckaroo Roper

The "Pioneer Living" Program

"Journey Back In Time" is a traveling hands-on museum so that kids can experience "Pioneer Living." Six different Learning Centers with their historical displays and hands-on stations provide for this field trip and turn WestFest into a pioneer settlement.

Gold Rush Learning Center:

Learning is fun as kids relive the excitement of the Gold Rush. Kids can go panning for gold (pyrite) and weigh their find on a set of authentic miner's scales. Artifacts on the display tell the story of a great westward movement.

Children's Learning Center:

Do you remember sock monkeys and button spinners? We do! This station features over 40 handmade wooden folk toys from craftspeople all across America. Children of all ages will find something to love as they play with pecking chickens, a whimmy-diddle, iron cabin fever puzzles, acrobats, yo-yos, ball and cup toys and lots more! We also have a collection of children's schoolbooks from the 1800s that students can take out and look at. Don't forget to read the rules from 1860! "Do not speak unless spoken to by the teacher. Talking in class = 1 whack with a rod."

Ma's and Pa's Learning Center:

After doing the chores at this station, children will think being a pioneer was loads of fun…but also loads of work! Here students can try suddsing up with a lather brush and shaving the way Pa did, pumping water from an old rain barrel, scrubbing clothes on a scrubboard, and wringing them out through a 150-year old washing machine.

Clothing Learning Center:

With general stores few and far between and pennies scarce, the pioneers didn't have many clothes. One source of clothing was sheep's' wool. Valued for its warmth and durability, it was used for everything from wool mittens to wool underwear! At this center, children will learn how wool was carded to brush the fiber straight, then spun or twisted into a piece of yarn.

Kitchen Learning Center:

From sifters to coffee grinders, cast iron to enamelware, many of the items in an 1800s kitchen resemble those things used at home today. But chances are children today have never experienced grinding wheat into flour and rolling out the bread dough. This station, with its cozy smells and tactile sensations is always a favorite.

Handcrafts Learning Center:

Rag rugs, quilts, corncob dolls, hand-dipped candles, tatting, and broomcorn…all common items in a pioneer home. In this center we pay tribute to the craftspeople of the 1800s who worked tirelessly to furnish the comforts of a homestead. Children will become craftspeople themselves as they make a necklace from earth-toned "trade beads" (made from pasta) to take home with them.

According to the Library of
Congress: “Cowboy poetry in the
United States dates back to the
period of the long-distance cattle
drives from Texas to Kansas that
followed the Civil War, and it has
been a thriving and ever-changing
tradition ever since. As a genre, it
has been influenced by literary
works—the Bible, the Odyssey,
Shakespeare’s plays, the works of
the Beat Generation - by popular
writers such as Robert W. Service
and Rudyard Kipling, by Victorian
popular culture and its fondness
for schoolhouse and parlor recitations,
by Hollywood cowboy films,
by country-western music and by
political developments from the
advent of homesteading and
barbed wire in the 19th century to
contemporary vegetarianism,
environmentalism and economic
development associated with the
‘New West.’ ”