Old West Days, history talks, and art show in Shoshone

Every year Shoshone Village honors the heritage of the area by bringing together history enthusiasts, cultural reminders, vendors, arts and crafts, food, live music, tours and a host of other festivities in the Old West Days event.

Venues include the Shoshone Museum, the historic Brown residence, the patio of the Crowbar Cafe, on the street and in the Flower Building.

The event begins at 4 p.m. today with a reception and keynote speakers at the museum and continues with live music at the Crowbar.

At 6 p.m. today, Cyndi Souza, a longtime ranger at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, will give a talk on the history of the refuge, from the time it was agricultural land, through the days of proposed development and the eventual gifting of the land to the National Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984. She will also talk about the restoration projects to return Ash Meadows to its natural state.

Also at 6 p.m., Joey Vitale will provide live music at the Crowbar during the also annual Death Valley Reunion. Vitale will play until 10 p.m.

Saturday is a full calendar with events hitting the venues one after another. First up is an 8 a.m. bird walk through the Shoshone wetlands guided by Len Warren. The tour will be repeated at 11 a.m. Those interested will meet on the patio outside the Crowbar Cafe.

At 9 a.m., there will be a Fairbanks family reunion in the old Brown residence. One of the huge springs in Ash Meadows is named after the Fairbanks family.

The Crowbar patio will become the entertainment stage as the Silver Tappers open the day’s shows at 11 a.m. Cole Reeves will play from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and numerous other performances are scheduled through 4 p.m. before there is a break.

On the schedule are in order of appearance, the Mavericks country dancers, the Sun Country Cloggers, East Meets West with Barbara Cross, line dancers, the Ovation Dancers and Backstreet Review, the Nye County Starletts will perform at 4 p.m. A performance is scheduled every hour throughout the day.

The history talks fire up at the museum beginning at 1 p.m., with opening remarks by the Inyo County 5th District Supervisor Matt Kingsley.

At 1:15, Charles Sorrells will talk about Maury Sorrells, called “the silent hero of the 5th district.

There will be a break before Judy Palmer takes the podium at 2 p.m., to talk about a lady talc miner, Louise Grantam. Ethel Messer follows at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the Rook family of Shoshone and George Ross will discuss the historical perspective of mine safety at 3 p.m.

At 4 p.m., there will be a reception and dedication of the new Feldkamp Memorial Park in honor of Bud and Betty Feldkamp. The event will be in the Road Less Traveled Park.

Action begins again at 5:30 p.m. at the Crowbar Cafe with live music from Pablo Tecopa and the Dusty Butter Band and Joey Vitale.

Sunday will feature a book signing from 10 a.m. to noon at the museum and at 1 p.m. there will be a pupfish habitat celebration by the Amargosa Conservancy in the Shoshone RV park.

Vendors will be dishing up deep-pit barbecue all weekend and there is an art show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all weekend in the Flower building. Following the art and craft show, there will be a boutique from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 8 where you can pick up some interesting gifts for the holidays.