If a hearty breakfast is the best way to start the day, then the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s 10th annual Cowboy Days festival should get off to a good start.

Cowboy Days is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 14-15, and admission is $2 per person. For many, however, the fun begins at 8 a.m. with the Cowboy Breakfast. Chuckwagon cook Brent Bolton and his Dutchmasters from Albuquerque will create an authentic cowboy breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., featuring Dutch oven favorites such as biscuits and gravy, and eggs and bacon. Bolton also will hold Dutch oven workshops during the weekend.

Tickets for the outdoor Cowboy Breakfast are $9 in advance and $10 on the day of the meal. Cowboy Days admission is included in the price of the breakfast tickets. There will be a limited number of breakfast tickets sold each day.

Cowboy Days will also mark the opening of an extensive new exhibit at the museum. “A Most Terrible Wonder: Firearms from 1600 to 1900” features dozens of guns from the museum’s collections. The exhibit opens with a reception and lecture from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 13. Firearms expert Tad Vanderhye of Lincoln County will talk about military firearms from 1855-1896 and will bring a variety of swords, rifles and handguns from that era. Admission to the lecture and opening is free.

Music always is a big part of Cowboy Days and two award-winning bands are the headliners. Performing on March 14 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the theater will be Syd Masters and Swing Riders.

The Western Music Association and The Academy of Western Artists have awarded or nominated Syd Masters and Swing Riders numerous times for Best Male Vocalist, Best Western Swing Band, Best Album, Best Song, Best Songwriter and Best Entertainer. Masters’ timeless melody, “Under New Mexico Skies,” was given the honorable title of Official Cowboy Song of the State of New Mexico. He is also the only two-time winner of the New Mexico Music Industry’s “Vocalist of the Year” honor.

On March 15, the headlining band will be Sons of the Rio Grande, performing in the theater from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The group, which includes Larry Ruebush, Rob Croft, Walen Mickey and Richard Twilley, combines tight harmonies and a strong acoustic sound. The title track of their debut album, “The Spirit & Beauty of the West,” won the New Mexico Music Industry Award for Best Folk Song in 2003.

Other musical performers will be Charlie Russell of El Paso and James Michael from Las Cruces. Russell takes the stage from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on March 14, and Michael performs from noon to 1 p.m. on March 15.

At noon on March 14, former Las Cruces Mayor and current Mayfield High School teacher Tommy Tomlin will have a presentation in the theater. A Western film expert, Tomlin will talk about “Hollywood’s Interpretation of the West.”

The schedule in the Museum’s theater begins each day with a Western movie starring Roy Rogers. “In Old Caliente” will be shown at 10:30 a.m. on March 14, and “Robin Hood of the Pecos” at 10:30 a.m. on March 15.

March 14 also marks the opening of Museum’s Greenhouse. A brief ceremony is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on March 14, and Cowboy Days visitors will be able to buy many different types of plants during the weekend.

Also, for the first time this year, living history activities will be part of Cowboy Days. Museum staff members and volunteers will be dressed in period costumes and will interact with visitors at the Homestead Camp.

The annual Western Arts & Crafts Show will be held throughout the weekend, as well, at two venues on the 47-acre campus. Food booths, as well as the Eagle Ranch Mercantile and Snack Bar, offer several kinds of snack and lunch choices.

Six Guns & Shady Ladies return this year to provide gunfight re-enactments in front of the Bruce King Building and Pete Paulson’s stagecoach will be giving rides throughout the weekend. Children’s activities will take place in and around the Children’s Discovery Garden.

On the South 20, the fun includes charreada (Mexican-style rodeo) performances, horsemanship demonstrations, horseshoeing demonstrations, sheep and goat herding with dogs (Sunday only), and horseback rides. Other demonstrations include milking, blacksmithing, dowsing, sewing, weaving and quilting.

For more information, please call (575) 522-4100.  The musuem is located at 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las Cruces.

Schedule of Events

Friday, March 13
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Opening of the exhibit: “A Most Terrible Wonder: Firearms from 1600-1900,” including lecture. Free.

Saturday, March 14

8a.m. to 10 a.m.: Cowboy Breakfast.
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Parade of Breeds in the Round Pen.
10:30 a.m.: Opening ceremony for Greenhouse.
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: Movie in the theater: In Old Caliente, starring Roy Rogers.
11 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.: Milking Demonstration in the Dairy Barn.
11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.: Gunfight re-enactment in front of the Bruce King Building.
12 p.m. to 1 p.m.: Presentation by Western film expert Tommy Tomlin in the Theater.
12 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Living history at the Homesteaders Camp.
1 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.: Gunfight re-enactment in front of the Bruce King Building.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Dutch Oven workshop on the South 20.
1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.: Music by Charlie Russell in the Theater.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Horsemanship demonstration in the Round Pen.
2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Music by Syd Masters & Swing Riders in the Theater.
3 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.: Gunfight re-enactment in front of the Bruce King Building.
3 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.: Milking demonstration in the Skaggs Dairy Barn.
3 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Dutch Oven Workshop on the South 20.
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Charreada (Mexican-style rodeo) demonstration in the Round Pen.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stagecoach rides (in front of the King Building), horseback rides (South 20), demonstrations by the Back Country Horsemen (South 20), children’s activities (Courtyard and/or South 20), Western Arts & Crafts Sale (Courtyard and Beef Barn), horseshoeing demonstration (South 20), dowsing demonstration (near the windmill), blacksmithing demonstration (Blacksmith Shop), sewing, weaving and quilting demonstrations (King Building), food vendors.

Sunday, March 15

8 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Cowboy Breakfast.
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Parade of Breeds in the Round Pen.
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: Movie in the Theater: Robin Hood of the Pecos, starring Roy Rogers.
11 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.: Milking Demonstration in the
12 p.m. to 1 p.m.: Cowboy music by James Michael in the Theater.
12 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Living history at the Homesteaders Camp.
1 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.: Gunfight re-enactment in front of the Bruce King Building.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Dutch Oven Workshop on the South 20.
1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Cowboy music by Sons of the Rio Grande in the Theater.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Horsemanship demonstration in the Round Pen.
3 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.: Gunfight re-enactment in front of the Bruce King Building.
3 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Dutch Oven Workshop on the South 20.
3 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.: Milking demonstration at the Skaggs Dairy Barn.
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Charreada (Mexican-style rodeo) demonstration in the Round Pen.

Continuous activities
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stagecoach rides (in front of the King Building), horseback rides (South 20), working dog demonstrations (Sunday only, at the Sheep & Goat Barn), demonstrations by the Back Country Horsemen (South 20), children’s activities (Courtyard and/or South 20), Western Arts & Crafts Sale (Courtyard and Beef Barn), horseshoeing demonstration (South 20), dowsing demonstration (near the windmill), blacksmithing demonstration (Blacksmith Shop), sewing, weaving and quilting demonstrations (King Building), food vendors.
Admission to Cowboy Days is $2 per person.

Tickets to the Cowboy Breakfast are $9 in advance and $10 on the day of the breakfast. Price includes admission to Cowboy Days.

For a complete listing of events in Las Cruces, visit www.lascrucescvb.org.

Comments are closed.