15th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium

For Immediate Release Press Contact: Tom Shinall, TMP Director of Marketing [email protected] 770-387-2833 THE SOUTH’S LARGEST WESTERN THEMED EVENT RETURNS TO BOOTH MUSEUM15th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium, October 26-29 at Booth Western Art MuseumCARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA – The Southeast Tourism Society has named Booth Western Art Museum’sSoutheastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium a STS Top 20 Event in the Southeast for October 2017!Qualified events are selected by travel industry experts within 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 three years old and have attendance of at least 1,000.“The Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Festival and Event list is an excellent guide for the Southeast’svisitors, residents and travel writers. The events selected represent the best, and often most unique,activities in our region,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society.As the largest Western themed event in the South, thousands of participants are expected to visit the 15thAnnual Southeastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium, October 26-29 at Booth Western Art Museumin Cartersville, Georgia. The four-day event is packed with events such as gunfight re-enactments, NativeAmerican dancing, art-related events with Featured Artist Howard Post, concert by Featured EntertainerSons of the Pioneers, children’s activities, Cowboy Church, and so much more!The Festival & Symposium begins Thursday, October 26 at 9:00 am with Passport to the West.Exclusively for students, this school program is designed to educate children (grades 2-12) with rivetingperformances of “From East to West” by Native Americans Laura Alcorn and Little Big Mountain. Viewfull encampments of Southern Plains and Eastern Woodland Indians and learn the differences betweentribes. Discover what Native American life was like from both the male and female perspective. A newcomponent to Passport to the West connects the Georgia and California Gold Rush. Demonstrations ofpottery making and/or chair caning, chuck wagon cooking, American Indian flute music and construction,and life at a trading post will fascinate students as they speak with demonstrators on their educationaljourney to the West! Passport to the West is presented jointly with the Bartow History Museum.Admission is $5 for students, $3 plus tax for adults, and free for classroom teachers. Educators interestedin bringing their students to Passport to the West should call 770-387-3849 to schedule their group.Passport to the West is also available on Friday, October 27 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.The Festival & Symposium opens to the public Thursday afternoon, October 26, as Booth Museum MORE

Cowboy Festival & Symposium, page 2Members and guests are invited to attend the exhibition opening and be among the first to view The WestObserved: The Art of Howard Post. Post is a third-generation Arizonan, who utilizes traditional Westernthemes in his paintings based on his upbringing in ranching and the rodeo. He concentrates on images ofcowboys, corrals, horses, livestock, and wide pastures using his own signature impressionistic style andarray of colors. For more than three decades, Post has left an unforgettable mark on the art of theAmerican West. His work has been compared to Regionalist painter Grant Wood, Western artist MaynardDixon, Modern artist Wayne Thiebaud, and others. But his distinctive imagery stands apart. Post utilizeshis own color schemes and recognizes shapes and patterns in nature as well as human-made structures.The exhibition will include approximately 40 paintings and sculptures of assorted sizes from Post’spersonal collection, the Tucson Museum of Art’s permanent collection, and private loans. A companionpublication containing a short essay and select images will be available for sale. The West Observed:The Art of Howard Post will debut at Booth Museum as part of a three-museum tour. The exhibition willmake its way to the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block and then to the Desert Caballeros WesternMuseum in Wickenburg, Arizona. Educational materials such as information panels, signage, anexhibition visitor guide, and a short video of Post in his studio will be played in the gallery. At 4:30 pm inthe Booth’s Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Post will conduct the Featured Artist Gallery Walk. Beginningat 5:30 pm, A Meet the Artist Reception with refreshments will be served in the Atrium. At 7:00 pm inBergman Theatre, Booth Museum Members and guests are invited to the Featured Artist EveningLecture to hear from Post as he discuss how he incorporates his personal experiences into his work as amaster Western artist.Throughout the day on Friday, October 27, the 15th Annual Western Art History Symposium will beheld in Bergman Theatre from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm with four sessions, each lasting 45 minutes with timefor questions and answers, and a break for lunch. The Western Art History Symposium is moderatedby Booth Museum Executive Director Seth Hopkins and included with general admission. At 10:30 am,Christine C. Brindza, James and Louise Glasser Curator of Art of the American West Tucson Museumof Art and Historic Block, will present On the Trails of Cowboy Art and Culture: From Charlie Russell toHoward Post. She curated The West Observed: The Art of Howard Post, debuting at the Booth.Christine is passionate about making art accessible to all ages and backgrounds. By providing multi-sensory experiences, reaching audiences outside of museum boundaries, and engaging the publicthrough various forms of art, she hopes to help foster appreciation of art for generations to come. At11:30 am, W. Richard West Jr., President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West in LosAngeles, CA, will present Museums of the American West in the 21st Century: Transformational Journeysin Interpretation. West has devoted his professional life and much of his personal life to working in the MORE

Cowboy Festival & Symposium, page 3national and international museum communities, and with American Indians on cultural, educational,legal, and governmental issues. West is also the Founding Director and Director Emeritus of theSmithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, where he served as Director from1990-2007. At 2:00 pm, Tim Newton, the curator of American Masters and Chairman of the Board of theSalmagundi Club, New York, will present Western Art in New York City?!. Newton has been an essentialpart of Salmagundi for the last ten years. As a patron and a businessman, Newton's knowledge andunderstanding of the art community has become an asset at the Salmagundi Club and his creativity andinnovation make for an incredible combination that has allowed the Club to expand its outreach. At 3:00pm, Tylee Abbott, Christie's Specialist in American Art and descendant of famed artist William TyleeRanney, will present Western Art at Auction. Abbott will share life experiences that fueled his passion forWestern art and also provide an inside look at the day-to-day life of a specialist at the world's largest fineart auction company. With tales from the road, finding and selling artwork, and stories from the sale room,Tylee will explore how various characteristics influence value in the art market.The festivities continue on Saturday, October 28 with a Painting Demonstration and Conversation withFeatured Artist Howard Post from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm in Bergman Theatre. Presented by the BoothArt Academy, this provides a unique opportunity to learn from a master impressionist who shows thecontemporary West in a modern fashion. This event will be moderated by Booth Executive Director SethHopkins. Registration is $30 for Booth Museum Members and $40 for not-yet-members. To register, call770-387-3849 or visit boothmuseum.org.New this year, a High School Art Club Chalk Art Competition will take place on the grounds of theMuseum from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 28. Eight high school art clubs from metroAtlanta will compete on a theme based on the art and culture of the American West. Sponsored by BlickArt Supplies. Participating high school art clubs include Adairsville, Cartersville, Harrison, KennesawMountain, North Cobb, Paulding County, Walton, and Woodland.The Cowboy Festival kicks off at 10:00 am on Saturday, October 28 on the Museum’s Festival Groundswith two stages of continuous entertainment, children’s activities and a Western marketplace. The MusicStage will feature live musical entertainment with Western singer/songwriter Phil Helton, NatalieGoodwin singing folk & family songs, Western Swing Band Billy Puckett + Friends, Banjoliciouspickin’ bluegrass/folk/country, and traditional Western songs performed by Peach Picker CatherineThompson. Throughout the day attendees will also be entertained by living history demonstrations on theWild West Festival Stage. Performances include “The Cowboy Creed” with Hopalong Cassidy and JimDunham, “East Meets West: Native American Life and Culture” with Native Americans Laura Alcorn and MORE

Cowboy Festival & Symposium, page 4Little Big Mountain, re-enactments of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral by Shadows of the Past, trick andfancy roping with Cowboy Bruce Brannen, plus traditional Native American dancing and, “The Art of theBullwhip” demonstration with Cowboy Potshot Parker.Rounding out the Festival Grounds activities, the Cowpoke Children’s Corner will include fun activitiessuch as art projects, hay bale calf roping, chalk art, Western Town Bouncy House, M&R Trackless Trainrides, and the Little Red Barn Petting Zoo featuring chickens, sheep, goats, ponies, cows, pigs, rabbits,and more! Marketplace vendors will be selling Western art and collectibles, jewelry and clothing, food,pottery, and much more. And, don’t forget to stroll through the festival grounds and interact with Westernentertainers and characters!Rounding out a day full of activities, on Saturday, October 28 at 7:00 pm in the historic Grand Theatre,Booth Western Art Museum is excited to welcome Sons of the Pioneers as Featured Entertainer for the15th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium. For more than 75 years, the Sons of thePioneers have performed the music of the American West – the landscape, people, and culture.Signature songs such as Tumbling Tumbleweed, Cool Water and Ghost Riders in the Sky, havebecome forever entwined into the very fabric of the West. Their songs are unabashed love songs to theWest, one of the things that makes them different. Tickets are $25 plus tax for Booth Museum Membersand $30 plus tax for the general public. Ticket sales are non-refundable. To purchase tickets, BoothMuseum Members should call 770-387-1300 and the general public should go online tothegrandtheatre.org/box-office. The Featured Entertainer Concert is presented by South 93.5.The final day of the Festival & Symposium will begin with Cowboy Church at 11:00 am on Sunday,October 29. Led by Pastor Jason Lyle, Cowboy Church is a non-denominational service featuringcowboy prayers and Western spiritual music. The Cowboy Festival & Symposium will then continuewith another full day of entertainment, children’s activities and the Western marketplace from noon to 5:00pm on the Festival Grounds. The Sunday schedule for the Music Stage will feature innovative bluegrassband the Old Mill Road Band, and Cowboy Music, Poetry and Western songs with Jim Dorsett, TomKerlin, Phil Helton, and Peach Picker Catherine Thompson. Entertainment on the Wild West Stage willinclude demonstrations and performances of re-enactments of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral withShadows of the Past, traditional Native American dancing, trick and fancy roping with cowboy BruceBrannen, and “The Cowboy Creed” with Hopalong Cassidy and Jim Dunham. In Cowpoke Corner,children can continue the inspiration from the chalk art competition and enjoy a demonstration of giantbubbles from Sweet Pea the Clown and Markey. MORE

Cowboy Festival & Symposium, page 5Throughout the four-day Festival & Symposium, attendees will be able to explore the current exhibitionsat Booth Museum including Western American Art South of the Sweet Tea Line V, The WestObserved: The Art of Howard Post, Booth Photography Guild Annual Exhibition, and the finalweeks of Ansel Adams: The Masterworks.For more details on the schedule of events, as well as pricing for all activities and events, visitwww.boothmuseum.org or call 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 only 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, visitwww.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. ###