Festival of the West

I wasn’t able to attend this year’s Festival of the West program.  My brother and his parents went in my place.  Thought I’d post the article he wrote about the experience.  Enjoy!  Festival of the West Review  By: B. Keith Williams  If you did not make it to the twenty-first Festival of the West this past weekend, you missed a rip-roarin’ good time! The attendance read like a combined “Who’s Who” from both Hollywood and Nashville. Larry Gatlin, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Rodriguez, and Michael Martin Murphey were the musical draws. Celebrities such as Robert Fuller, Jeff Connors, Clint Walker, Ed Faulkner, Julie Ann Ream, Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, and Peter Brown were among many other movie/television personalities.  The western era was also well represented and is kept alive by authors Major and Judy Mitchell from Shalako Press, Chronicles of the Old West’s Dakota and Sunny Livesay, True West’s Bob Boze Bell and Carole Glenn, Sherry Bond, Chris Enss, John Conley, Jeff Hildebrandt, and B. Keith Williams.  History’s Annabella O’Dwyer (Marsha Wats) and Wyatt Earp (.biz) were part of the festivities as well. Ermal “The Duke” Williamson and Paula Williamson, “America’s Yodeling Sweetheart,” performed also.  “We had a fabulous time” according to Ray and Camille Williams. “I never would have guessed in a million years that the Rifleman’s rifle and shirt would be transported in my car! What an honor to have associated with Jeff Connors, Sherry Bond, and Festival of the West’s publicist Happy and Gene Anderson. They are very gracious and personable individuals”. “It was always about the fans my dad said,” quoted Jeff Connors.  According to actor Ed Faulkner, the Festival of the West is one of the better shows he tries to attend each year.  While there may have been some transitional obstacles this year, most attendees seemed positive.  Rollie Stevens and Kathy Meek have both a great love for and desire to see Festival of the West grow. As an author representative for Chris Enss, B. Keith Williams adulated, “Working with Kathy was a pleasure. For the first time, I believe, they had a western authors’ area over which she was responsible. I feel our educational system is neglecting our kids by taking history from the classrooms across the country, and it is important work our authors are doing in keeping this era of history alive. I have probably been many of these characters (Rifleman, Cheyenne, Little Joe, and Lawman) in my own backyard growing up as a little boy.  For more photos and video, see… www.chrisenss.com (courtesy of Ray and Camille Williams and Larry Anger).