Yeehaw! It’s just about time to celebrate National Cowboy Day this July at the Fort Concho National Historic Landmark.
Spurs, cowboy hats and western artwork are expected to be on full and colorful display 9-10:30 a.m. July 25, and the event is free and open to everyone.
The locale for National Cowboy Day will be the American Plains Artist western art show in the fort’s Quartermaster Gallery at Burgess Street at East Avenue C, a Fort Concho media release said.
The fun includes a tasty light breakfast, an entertaining living-history performance and a gander at the rustic, sometimes poignant and always captivating western paintings and sculptures in the art show.
Concho Valley is a legendary cattle area with ranches dating back many generations.
“The Army may have founded San Angelo in the late 1860s, but cowboys and cattle built the regional economy and pulled the entire state out of the ruins of the post-Civil War era,” Bob Bluthardt, Fort Concho site manager, said in a media release.
National Cowboy Day events July 25 at Fort Concho
The day begins at 9 a.m. with a light breakfast featuring pastries, fruit, juices, coffee and water.
At 9:30 a.m., Laura Huckaby, curator at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, will lead a short program on the art show. It features over 70 works of art covering many western themes including cowboys.
At 10 a.m., the award-winning Concho Cowboy Company will perform a skit in the field outside the Quartermaster Gallery. It’s worth noting the organization is marking its 20th anniversary this year as a living history group.
The western art show will stay open until 4 p.m. July 25.
After that the exhibit will be open 1:30– 4:30 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturdays and all weekdays except Mondays until the show’s last day on Aug. 2.
The National Day of the Cowboy began in 2005 in Wyoming.
A group convinced the state’s Legislature to pass a bill to “celebrate the iconic figure who shaped the American frontier,” the media release said.
Since then, 15 more states, including Texas, have approved such legislation. Fort Concho has been celebrating National Cowboy Day almost 15 years. And over the past decade, it has coincided with the fort’s annual western art show.
“Cowboys and Creatives” was a catch phrase adopted by the San Angelo Destination Marking Organization several years ago.
“Few communities reflect cowboy culture better than San Angelo, a known cattle market town with boot and hat makers, supply houses, and a world-class, nationally ranked rodeo,” DMO Director Jeremy Bartz said in a media release.
What’s more, True West Magazine has declared San Angelo a “Top Ten Western Town” for the past decade, placing first in January this year.
Trish Choate is the executive editor for the Abilene Reporter-News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@USATodayco.com. Read her recent work here.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Fort Concho hosts free National Cowboy Day event
Reporting by Trish Choate, San Angelo Standard-Times / San Angelo Standard-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Trish Choate, San Angelo Standard-Times | USA TODAY Network
