15th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering

For Immediate Release Press Contact: Tom Shinall, TMP Director of Marketing [email protected] 770-387-2833 A TASTE OF THE OLD WEST15th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering, March 8–10, 2018CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA – Round up the children and mosey on over to Booth Western Art Museumto experience a taste of the Old West. On Saturday, March 10, 2018, Booth Museum will host theSoutheastern Chuck Wagon Invitational, the largest gathering of chuck wagons east of the MississippiRiver.The Southeast Tourism Society has named Booth Museum’s Southeastern Cowboy Gathering a STSTop 20 Event in the Southeast for March 2018! Qualified events are selected by travel industry expertswithin the STS 12 state area – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Events must be at least threeyears old and have attendance of at least 1,000. “The Southeast is home to unique and memorableevents throughout the year. In spotlighting the Top 20 festivals and events each month, STS is not onlygiving these events the recognition they deserve but we’re also creating a quick reference guide to someof the best festivals in the Southeast,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast TourismSociety. “These events are important to the economic vitality of our communities and this is a way for usto acknowledge the time and resources organizers have tirelessly spent to create memories for theirattendees.” The Southeast Tourism Society has saluted the region’s travel industry best events since1985.As part of Booth Museum’s annual Cowboy Gathering, the Southeastern Chuck Wagon Invitationalhas been recognized as one of the best and most unique annual food festivals in Georgia by GeorgiaEats, The Official State Culinary Guide. In today’s society, the popularity of the food truck can be seen onstreet corners and at festivals across the country. So when did the food truck phenomenon begin? It canbe traced back to 1866 and a Texas cattle rancher by the name of Charles Goodnight. The chuckwagon…the original food truck. Historically, the chuck wagon served as a field kitchen – the storage andtransportation of perishable foods and cooking equipment – for the cowboys and settlers of the AmericanWest.Beginning at 8:00 am, Saturday, March 10 on the Museum Festival Grounds, southerners can experiencethe Old West without ever leaving the Southeast. Teams of cooks will be provided the same basic MORE

Page two, Cowboy Gathering 2018ingredients and instructed to prepare their own versions of beef, potatoes, beans, cobbler, and theirchoice of biscuit or cornbread. To echo the ways of the Old West, crews are required to use ingredientsthat would have been readily available during the cattle drive era as well as preparing and cooking theirmeals is an authentic manner. The teams are encouraged to interact with attendees and educate thepublic on the importance of the chuck wagon. For an overall immersive experience, attendees have theopportunity to purchase meal tickets for lunch served from the wagons. Those interested are encouragedto purchase meal tickets in advance for $17.50 plus tax by calling the Museum Front Desk at 770-387-1300 or online at boothmuseum.org. When purchasing chuck wagon lunch meal tickets, you will berequired to select a wagon…insider’s tip – if purchasing multiple meal tickets, order each ticket from adifferent wagon. Participating wagons include: Double X Ranch, Etowah Cattle Company, Forest MannaCamp, Greenhorn Cattle Company, and Rockin’ TP. Lunch from the wagons will be served at High Noon.In conjunction with the Southeastern Chuck Wagon Invitational, Gathering-related activities include agallery walk, exhibition opening reception, lecture, and painting demonstration with Featured Artist Z.Z.Wei; a concert by Featured Entertainer Dave Stamey; art activities; live entertainment; cowboy church;and so much more!On Thursday, March 8 at 5:00 pm, Featured Artist Z.Z. Wei will lead a Gallery Walk through Z.Z. Wei:Shadow Stories in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery. Born and educated in China, Wei’s views ofAmerica allow us to see the hopefulness of a newcomer through 25 paintings that transport us to a placewhere time stands still. At 6:00 pm, a Meet the Artist Reception featuring refreshments will be held inthe Lucinda and James Eaton Sculpture Atrium. Following the reception, Booth Museum Members andguests are invited to the Featured Artist Evening Lecture in Bergman Theatre to join Wei as hediscusses how he unites his art and life experiences in China with his perspectives inspired by travelingthe backroads of America. These activities are free for Booth Museum Members and included withgeneral admission for not-yet-members.Z.Z. Wei was born as Zhao Baiwei in 1957 in Beijing, China. He started painting during China’s CulturalRevolution. Art and painting helped Wei process the turmoil of this unstable period. He worked as anavant-garde sculptor after graduating from college in 1984. Wei came to the United States in 1989 for theWashington State Centennial Culture Connection Project. The American landscape has sincetransformed him as a person and an artist. It represents the beginning of a new life and art style. Weiunites his Chinese upbringing with new perspectives inspired by his travels through the American MORE

Page three, Cowboy Gathering 2018backroads, and creates a rich and poetic oeuvre familiar yet unexpected to the viewer. His paintingscapture the character and spirit of America; richly complex, filled with humor, loneliness, peacefulness,grit and grace, tempting those who choose to look beyond the mundane to experience a unique andtimeless look at life. “Art begins when words fail,” said Z.Z. Wei. “I communicate with my viewers throughthe emotions I create on canvas. It’s a space for them to rest, to contemplate, to heal and to celebrate; it’san inner landscape for them to interact and interpret through their own perspective. These endlesspossibilities are what make art powerful. I paint to open those possibilities for myself and for others.”On Friday, March 9 from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm, the Booth Artists’ Guild presents a PaintingDemonstration and Conversation with Featured Artist Z.Z. Wei. Moderated by Booth MuseumExecutive Director Seth Hopkins, this provides a unique opportunity to witness and learn from one ofWestern art’s great contemporary artists. Tickets are $30 for Booth Museum Members and $40 for not-yet-members. To register for the artist demonstration, call 770-387-1553.Throughout the day on Saturday, March 10, visitors are invited to enjoy an activity-packed afternoon.Explore current exhibits Laura Wilson: That Day in the Special Exhibition Gallery, Zoë Urness: Keepingthe Traditions Alive in the Picturing America Gallery, and GA Wildlife Artists in SEWE: SoutheasternWildlife Exposition in Borderlands Gallery. Inside the Museum, the art will come to life with charactersfrom artwork in the Booth Collection available for interaction, questions, and photographs. Theentertainment schedule includes Cowboy Church with Jason Lyle at 10:00 am, traditional Westernsongs performed by Peach Picker Catherine Thompson at 10:30 pm, a Western Writing Rodeo at11:00 am, performance by Western singer/songwriter Shane Queener at 1:00 pm, Singer/SongwriterOpen Mic at 2:00 pm, Cowboy Poetry Rodeo Open Mic at 3:00 pm, and a 4:00 pm presentation ofBullets and Ballads with Jim Dunham and Phil Helton.On Saturday evening at 7:00 pm at the Grand Theatre in Cartersville, join us for a Cowboy Concert withFeatured Entertainer Dave Stamey. Cowboys & Indians Magazine called him “the Charlie Russell ofWestern Music.” Western Horseman Magazine has declared his “Vaquero Song” to be one of thegreatest Western songs of all time. In 2010, 2011 and 2013 True West Magazine named him Best LivingWestern Solo Musician. Dave Stamey has been a cowboy, a mule packer, a dude wrangler, and is nowone of the most popular Western entertainers working today. He has been voted Entertainer of the Yearand Male Performer of the Year seven times and Songwriter of the Year five times by the Western MusicAssociation, and received the Will Rogers Award from the Academy of Western Artists. He’s delightedaudiences in twenty three states, and finds that he prefers this to being stomped by angry horses. As MORE

Page four, Cowboy Gathering 2018Featured Entertainer for the Southeastern Cowboy Gathering, this will be Stamey’s first visit to Georgia!Tickets are $25 plus tax and fees for Booth Museum Members and $30 plus tax and fees for not-yet-members. Ticket sales are non-refundable. Seating in the Grand Theatre is limited, so purchase yourtickets today by calling the Museum at 770-387-1300, the Grand Theatre Box Office at 770-386-7343, oronline at thegrandtheatre.org.The Southeastern Cowboy Gathering is designed to celebrate our rich Western heritage. For moredetails on the schedule of events, as well as pricing for all activities and events, visit boothmuseum.org orcall 770-387-1300.About Booth Western Art MuseumBooth Western Art Museum, an Affiliate to the Smithsonian Institution, is a 120,000 square foot museumlocated in Cartersville, Georgia, where guests are invited to See America’s Story through contemporaryWestern artwork, a Presidential Gallery, Civil War art gallery, and Sagebrush Ranch, an interactivechildren’s gallery. Open since August 2003, Booth Museum is the largest museum of its kind in theSoutheast and was named the 2016 Escape to the Southeast Travel Attraction of the Year from theSoutheast Tourism Society. To learn more about Booth Western Art Museum, visit boothmuseum.org.Museum DirectionsBooth Western Art Museum is located at 501 N. Museum Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120. Take I-75 to exit#288 – Main Street, Cartersville. Head West. Follow Main Street (Highway #113 / #61) into the businessdistrict – approximately 2.2 miles. Turn right on Gilmer Street, travel two blocks under the bridge and theMuseum is on the left. Free parking is available in the Tabernacle Baptist Church parking lot on GilmerStreet, across from the Museum entrance.Museum HoursTuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Thursday: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm.Sunday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.AdmissionAdult: $12 plus tax; Senior (65+): $10 plus tax; Student (with ID): $9 plus tax; Child (12 and under): Free(accompanied by parent or guardian); Active Military Personnel (with ID): Free (½ price regular admissionfor all immediate family members of the active duty person); Booth Museum Members: Free; FirstThursday of each month: Free admission for all between 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. ###