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Empire Ranch Cowboy Festival

  • Empire Ranch E Empire Ranch Rd Sonoita, AZ 85637 (map)

The Empire Ranch Cowboy Festival is the Foundation’s annual public event celebrating Arizona’s Western history and culture. The Cowboy Festival also showcases the BLM and Empire Ranch Foundation’s efforts to preserve the Empire Ranch for future generations. Each year more than 2,000 visitors come to the ranch to enjoy Western heritage demonstrations, arena and livestock exhibits, cowboy cooking and Western entertainment.

LOWER ARENA DEMONSTRATIONS

  • 10 am – National Anthem and posting of the colors – B Troop

  • 10:15 am – Charros y Modelos de Tucson

  • 10:50 am – Lanny Leach Horsemanship

  • 11:25 am – Copper State Renegades Drill Team

  • 11:45 am – Spanish Barb Horses

  • 12:20 pm – Charros y Modelos de Tucson

  • 12:55 pm – Lanny Leach Horsemanship

  • 1:30 pm – Copper State Renegades Drill Team

  • 1:55 pm – Spanish Barb Horses

  • 2:30 pm – Charros y Modelos de Tucson

  • 3:05 pm – Copper State Renegades Drill Team

  • 3:25 pm – Lanny Leach Horsemanship

UPPER ARENA DEMONSTRATIONS

ENTERTAINMENT ON THE MUSIC STAGE

  • 10 am – Way Out West

  • 11 am – The White Mountain Apache “War Dance Warriors” from Fort Apache

  • 12 pm – The Cowboy Way

  • 1 pm – The White Mountain Apache “War Dance Warriors” from Fort Apache

  • 1:45 pm – The Cowboy Way

  • 3 pm – Way Out West

WESTERN SKILLS DEMONSTRATIONS

  • Adobe Brick Making – James Becker

  • Blacksmithing — Casey Abbs

  • Branding – Bill Schock

  • Boot Making — Osuna Boots

  • Leatherworking — Ben Claridge

  • Leatherworking — Phil Parks

  • Reata Braiding – Dick Schorr

  • Saddlemaking — Brad Faulkner

  • Silversmithing — Byrd Moss

COWBOY CONVERSATIONS

Adobe Haybarn

  • 10:30 am – “The Story of Walter Vail” by Van Fowers

  • 11:30 am – “In Front & Behind the Camera” by Bunker DeFrance, Marty Freese, Russell True

  • 12:30 pm – “Life on the Lazy B Ranch as Lived by an American Cowboy” by Alan Day

  • 1:30 pm – “Photographic Archaeology of Empire Ranch Headquarters” by Robin Pinto

  • 2:30 pm – “Movies In/Around the Empire” by Marty Freese

Ranch House, Room 1

  • 11:30 am – “My Working Cowboy Life on the Empire-1940’s” by Gerald Korte

  • 12:30 pm – “Vail Family Vignettes” by Susan Vail Hoffman

  • 1:30 pm – “Tomás & Blás López–two generations of Empire Ranch cowboys” by Eddie Gardner”

  • 2:30 pm – “The Boice Family Legacy” by Faith Boice and Steve Boice

Ranch House, Room 4

  • 10:30 am – “The Buffalo Soldiers” by Charles Hancock

  • 11:30 am – “Tom Turner: The Last Big Cattle Drive” by Gary Turner

  • 1:30 pm – “California Ranching Legacy of the Vail Family” by Tim Vail

  • 2:30 pm – “Dude Ranching in Arizona” by Russell True

WESTERN AUTHORS

ANIMAL DEMONSTRATIONS & WESTERN ENTERTAINMENT

TRAIL RIDES

Take a 45-minute trail ride ($30).  Riders must be age 8 or older.

NON PROFIT DEMONSTRATIONS/BOOTHS

SILENT AUCTION

Stop by the Silent Auction Tent and bid on the special items donated by ERF supporters.

GREAT GRUB

  • Arbuckle Coffee Roasters

  • Black Jack Citrus Infusions

  • Las Vigas Steak Ranch–three options will be available: Mexican, BBQ, and hamburgers/hot dogs. $10/plate

  • Kettlelicious Kettle Corn

  • Maui-Wowi Smoothies

VENDORS

Source:: https://www.empireranchfoundation.org
Earlier Event: November 2
Clean Out Your Barn
Later Event: November 15
Young Farmers & Ranchers Annual Meeting