LINK: See the schedule of the festival
Cowboys will spin yarns and sing songs, horses and old-time wagons will take visitors on rides, and hearty Dutch-oven eats will sustain visitors at the seventh annual Antelope Island Cowboy Legends Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival over Memorial Day weekend.
Lisa Stubblefield, of the Ogden-based cowboy band Coyotee Moon, started the festival as an informal half-day affair in the picnic area at Fielding Garr Ranch on the island.
"But as the years went on, it became a full day on Saturday," said Stubblefield. "Then we added Sunday. Last year, we went to three days, and they told me we had over 5,000 people there over that weekend -- they do a head count on visitors that come to the ranch. So this year, we are there for the entire weekend, with performers from all over the state."
Rather than go with smaller acts and one or two big headliners, as have many cowboy poetry festivals throughout the West, Stubblefield has kept the Antelope Island event intimate and true to the informal gatherings in days of yore.
"This is the kind of thing cowboys did around the campfire, after working hard," she said. "They'd tell a funny story, or recite, or play a little music if they could. There were no stars among them. Everyone contributed. I want to keep that sort of feeling. I see this as a way to keep our history alive, especially for the kids. They didn't grow up with cowboy shows on TV, or the movies, like we did, and the ranching life is disappearing all around us."
Working cowboy fest
Among the performers at the festival will be Richard Olsen of Hooper, JoLynn Kirkwood of Sevier County, the Johnson Creek Band of the Salt Lake Valley, Marion Manwell of Payson, Arden Gailey of Ogden and Laurie Tye of Taylorsville.
Involved in the festival since its inception are Kaysville's Jan and Judy Erickson, who perform under the name The Drifter and Miss Judy, and Stan Tixier, a cowboy poet from Eden.
"Lisa has been the driving force of the whole deal from the very start," said Tixier. "At the first few, what we had there was just a handful. We set up a little stage and microphone on the grass lawn and took turns either singing or reciting our poetry. Then she (Stubblefield) was able to get a little financial support from the people who run Antelope Island, and we were able to add meals and expand enough that, after a few years, we moved inside to the shearing barn."
Jan Erickson, who bills himself as a 1900-era cowboy singer, used to provide and run the sound system when the event was smaller.
"What's nice about this festival is we've stayed with no big headliners, because we wanted to give the good talent around here exposure," Erickson said. "As a result, people have learned about the locals. Some, like myself, have never made CDs, so we have to play live to get heard, and we've been able to build a following.
"Now, I like to think of it as a real working-cowboy kind of festival," he added. "You kind of sit around and relax and tell stories and have fun."
Four days of fun
Cowboy poets and musicians will set up camp on the island. Many of the performers will also bring their own horses for early morning rides May 29 through May 31. In addition, horses will be available for hire at the ranch for guests to join in the saddleback fun.
Prefer not to actually sit on a horse but still want a taste of travel in the Old West? A wagon train, presented by the Utah Western Heritage Foundation, will offer rides as well, with proceeds going to the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
Garrett's Good Stuff of Syracuse will cater dinner shows, scheduled for the evening hours of May 28 and 29.
On May 30, a morning cowboy church session will be held; and at the end of the day an old-school campfire potluck dinner show is planned.
Events wind up at 5 p.m. Memorial Day.
Said Tixier: "It is not anything big or showy with a bunch of fanfare. It is still all about, 'Here is the next poet, and you're going to enjoy her. She comes all the way from Richfield.' I really like that, that this is about taking your turn, and well, if someone can't show for some reason, we will fill in for them and entertain you real well. People are just down to earth, and everyone seems to enjoy that about it."
Never a dull moment
Erickson enjoys the fact that there is always an element of surprise.
"It seems like almost every time we are out there, we get a storm rolling through at some point," he said. "So back when I was still doing sound, it had me running around, protecting my speakers with garbage bags, and things like that. One year we got a storm that blew right straight through the barn. We had little rivers going right on through there. My mike stands were in the mud."
Erickson said he had a bit more fun last year when he turned over the sound to someone with a bigger rig more suitable for the larger crowds. However, simply performing is not without its own unique challenges on this island.
"I especially liked being out in the picnic area, when the festival was smaller," Erickson said. "For one thing, it was fun being right there among the people, instead of on the flatbed stage we have now. There was livestock and wild animals right out there with you and the crowd. There are all kinds of stories about that.
"One year, I had a buck deer challenge me. I was up there performing and he got a real wild look in his eye." Erickson laughed. "I don't think he liked my singing much."
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