{"id":38060,"date":"2022-10-01T22:09:57","date_gmt":"2022-10-02T04:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-saddles-up-for-34th-annual-cowboy-poetry-gathering-parade\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:41:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:41:59","slug":"durango-saddles-up-for-34th-annual-cowboy-poetry-gathering-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-saddles-up-for-34th-annual-cowboy-poetry-gathering-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango saddles up for 34th annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade drew about 1,500 people downtown Saturday, said Pam Jacobs, parade coordinator. About 200 people and at least 100 horses, plus many mules and burros, from 28 entries participated in the parade. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade drew about 1,500 people to downtown on Saturday, Pam Jacobs, parade coordinator, said. About 200 people and at least 100 horses, plus many mules and burros, from 28 entries participated in the parade.<\/p>\n

The Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering started on Thursday with a western-themed variety show and performances by Academy of Western Artists and Western Music Association Hall-of-Famer R.W. Hampton, music and poetry train trips and trail rides on Friday. It continued with the parade and a gallery show featuring Sky Horse Saddles at the Sorrel Sky Gallery on Saturday and is scheduled to end with a potluck after inspirational poetry and music at the Durango Cowboy Church on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"Representing
Representing the Victorians group, Kristi Nelson, left, Caroline and Richard Wilcox, of Silverton, pose after traveling up Durango\u2019s Main Avenue in the 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The parade featured the likes of the Fort Carson Mounted Color Guard of Colorado Springs, which pulled a restored 1883 wagon. The Color Guard members were dressed as cavalry and won two parade awards, Best Spirit Award and the Best Mules Award, Pam Jacobs said.<\/p>\n

Other groups featured in the parade included the ever-popular Bayfield Belles, the Cow Farley Cow Folks, a home for kids without families who perform poetry every year, Grand Marshal Lorraine Taylor, who \u201crepresents every aspect of the Old West,\u201d and other local groups, Jacobs said.<\/p>\n

Kristi Nelson, Caroline and Richard Wilcox of Silverton, representing the Victorians group, paraded down Main Avenue while escorting a Willy Wonka-esque steampunk-inspired pedal-propelled vehicle that blew bubbles out of a chute on its front.<\/p>\n

Nelson said the contraption was a nod to the Victorian era, noting that Durango was founded in the 1880s, and steampunk themes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just an eclectic little group here,\u201d Caroline Wilcox said.<\/p>\n

Nelson said the parade is an annual event for the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s a great place to meet a lot of my friends and neighbors,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a way to keep Durango\u2019s cowboy heritage alive. Which is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Wilcox said the parade is a great event for socializing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou usually think of Durango and tourism,\u201d Caroline Wilcox said. \u201cPeople come to see the mountains or whatever. I love seeing the goats. \u2026 We forget about our farming history. It\u2019s almost like 4-H on display. So it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A steampunk, Willy Wonka-esque pedal-powered, bubble-blowing vehicle, tailed by the Victorians, featured at Durango\u2019s 2022 Cowboy Parade on Main Avenue on Saturday. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pete
Pete and Karen Vogt watched Rily Vogt, center, participate in her first ever Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade that started at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station and proceeded up Main Avenue on Saturday. Rily is a student at the Juniper School, a public charter school that had 25 student participants in the 34th annual cowboy parade. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Karen and Pete Vogt watched their granddaughter participate with other Juniper School students in the parade on Saturday. The 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering marked the first for each of them, Karen said.<\/p>\n

Poets and musicians visited the Juniper School, a public charter school, on Friday to perform for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey brought a younger girl singer and a gentleman singer and a poet. They sang some songs, \u2018Home on the Range\u2019 and \u2018You Are My Sunshine\u2019,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were teaching kids some good old cowboy songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pete said he enjoyed his first cowboy parade, it being \u201cjust a hometown thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody broke out the cowboy hats,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Juniper School had 25 students in this year\u2019s parade and has participated in the annual event for about six years, said school officials.<\/p>\n

A rich celebration and preservation of music and poetry<\/div>\n

Lindy Simmons, president of the board of Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering, said it all started in 1989 with a man named Kevin O\u2019Farrel. He attended the national cowboy gathering in Elko, Nevada, and decided that Durango needed a Western tradition of its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted to give the cowboy poets and musicians the support, to share what they\u2019re doing to preserve stories from the Old West, and to generate new poetry and music that involves Western life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Bayfield Belles mosey up Main Avenue during the 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade on Saturday. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Iron Horse Inn used to be performers\u2019 main venue; once the gathering outgrew that, shows moved into the Strater Hotel and the Diamond Circle Theatre.<\/p>\n

In the early days of the cowboy gathering, rodeo activities such as roping events were common. But when the events transitioned over to Main Avenue, fewer activities involving live horses and wagons were hosted, she said.<\/p>\n

But, the cowboy gathering added trail rides and music and poetry performances on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for the entertainment of passengers, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just continues to grow,\u201d Simmons said.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The
The 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade drew about 1,500 people downtown Saturday, Pam Jacobs, parade coordinator, said. About 200 people and at least 100 horses, plus many mules and burros, from 28 entries participated in the parade. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lindy
Lindy Simmons, president of the board of Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering, said it all started in 1989 with a man named Kevin O\u2019Farrel. He attended the national cowboy gathering in Elko, Nevada, and decided that Durango needed a Western tradition of its own. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The 34th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Parade drew about 1,500 people downtown Saturday, said Pam Jacobs, parade coordinator. About 200 people and at least 100 horses, plus many mules and burros, from 28 entries participated in the parade. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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