28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Features Arts and Culture of American Southwest

Ticket sales begin September 6 for Western Folklife Center members

ELKO, Nev.,  Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering -- the nation's greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions -- will take place January 30 to February 4, 2012, in Elko, Nevada. Every winter for the last 27 years, cowboys, ranchers, rural and urban people have traveled en masse to this small high desert community, to join with friends, family and others who care about the rural West. Together, they listen to poetry and music, learn about cowboy culture in the U.S. and around the world, experience great art, watch western films, learn a craft, and gather to eat, drink and swap stories. Ticket sales for the 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering begin on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Members of the Western Folklife Center, which produces the event, can purchase tickets that day, while non-members can purchase tickets one month later, on Thursday, October 6.

Programs at the 28th Gathering will focus on the southwestern United States, specifically Arizona and New Mexico -- which are celebrating their centennials next year -- and West Texas. The event will present poets and musicians from the region, as well as workshops and panel discussions focused on regional food, culture and agriculture. An exhibition of Southwest ranching culture featuring the photography of Kurt Markus and Jay Dusard will be on display in the Western Folklife Center's Wiegand Gallery.

The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering features nearly 50 poets, musicians and musical groups from the U.S., Canada and Australia, performing on seven stages at four different venues. The line-up includes cowboy poets Baxter Black, Wally McRae, Paul Zarzyski, Waddie Mitchell and many more. The musical line-up includes Ian Tyson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, R.W. Hampton, Stephanie Davis, Dave Stamey, Wylie & The Wild West and more. Additional highlights include a keynote address by actor and author Barry Corbin, who will discuss the mythology of the cowboy and the misrepresentation of cowboy and ranching life in the media.

Tickets to the 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering can be purchased at www.westernfolklife.org, by calling 775-738-7508, toll-free 888-880-5885. The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is supported by NV Energy, AT&T, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Humanities, and many more foundations, businesses and individuals.

SOURCE Western Folklife Center