Cowboy up for 2016

Happy New Year to all. I hope you are looking forward to a great 2016 and have plans to make this your best year ever. Try to stick to those resolutions you just made, but don’t worry if you can’t … 2017 is only 12 months away and you can try again.

Although the holiday season is over, here in the Denver metro area January has its own annual tradition that carries us through the month and gives us something to look forward to other than football playoffs and bowl games. It’s a month for us to get into the Western spirit and find our inner cowboy.

That’s right, it’s National Western Stock Show time once again. For the past 110 years that has been running in Denver and attracts over a half-million people each year.

But right here in Golden we have our own Western tradition that runs in conjunction with the Stock Show and that’s the Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

This event runs from Thursday, Jan. 21, through Sunday, Jan. 24. It’s a fun-filled weekend with performances and readings by some of the best-known western poets and storytellers in the country. There will be 15 different performers scheduled for shows throughout the weekend.

It all starts on Thursday at the Clear Creek History Park with a branding event that goes from 10 a.m. to noon. You can bring your own branding iron, heat it up in the blacksmith shop and brand some wood while you enjoy a cup of campfire coffee or hot chocolate and munch on cinnamon rolls. It’s kind of a fun little prelude that’s free to attend and kicks off the weekend by setting the mood.

Later on Thursday night there’s a VIP/Members Meet and Greet sampler show at Miner’s Alley Playhouse starting at 7:30 p.m. It’s a fast-paced evening with each featured performer doing one number.

After that, they move the event over to the American Mountaineering Center. On Friday and Saturday there will be daytime-themed shows from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. featuring all the performers. Each evening they will present six performers on the Main Stage doing their full shows starting at 7:30 p.m. There’s also a Chuckwagon Lunch available at the Table Mountain Inn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on those days.

Sunday’s schedule starts at 10 a.m. and brings a program called Sunday Songs with old-time cowboy and gospel music as well as inspirational poems and special musical guests.

The final event is the Jackpot Finale at 1 p.m., which highlights some of Colorado’s best poets and performers.

Now, in addition to all these shows there will also be two classes that you can attend, but you will need to register for them ahead of time. One teaches you how to make mohair saddle cinches and the other teaches you how to play Cowboy harmonica.

Ticket prices range from $ 20 for the Sunday Songs show to $ 165 for a full weekend pass with other options in between. You can find out more and order tickets by going to the website at www.coloradocowboygathering.com. You can also call 720-213-6446 or 303-433-4949.

Miner’s Alley Playhouse is located at 1224 Washington Ave., the Table Mountain Inn is right across the street at 1310 Washington Ave. and the American Mountaineering Center is a few blocks north at 710 10th St. here in Golden, so everything is within walking distance. There are maps on their website, too.

Golden Transcript – Latest Stories