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FEBRUARY 11-14, 2010
WESTERN FUN RIDES IN WITH THE 62nd ANNUAL GOLD RUSH DAYS
“OUT
WICKENBURG WAY!”
This event celebrates the town’s origins as a ranching & gold
mining center in the days before there was a Phoenix. The heritage
event was founded 60 years ago, and today Gold Rush Days draws tens of
thousands of visitors, during the three days of activities.
Festivities begin on Thursday, February 11, with a Western Hat Rendezvous
lunch on Frontier Street with the gals from Buckshot Babes from 12noon-2pm;
followed by the Family Fun Carnival opening at 4:00 p.m., in the downtown
district. Joining us in Wickenburg for special performances is Nashville
artist Marty Stuart & his Fabulous Superlatives who will
appear in concert on Thursday and Friday Night at 7:30 p.m., at the Del
E. Webb Center for Performing Arts.
The official opening gets underway on Friday, February 12 with the Opening
Ceremonies on Frontier Street at 10:00 a.m. with gunfights, and gold
rush officials kicking off the event. Friday is the only day you will
be able to see beautiful classic cars on Frontier Street from 9am -3
p.m. The main festival area on Valentine Street in the historic
district will see 200 arts/crafts exhibitors, a family fun carnival,
photography exhibit, art show, free stage entertainment, and much more
from 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., with the carnival running throughout the
evening. One of the highlights on Friday is the first show
of the Desert Stagers old fashioned melodrama, held in the historic Saguaro
Theatre at 7:00 p.m., nightly throughout the celebration.
The parade on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., is one of the largest in Arizona,
with over 100 entries including 1,000 horses, classic auto’s, floats,
marching bands, and youth groups participating. Spectators line
the street as one of the largest parades in Arizona passes by. This year our parade grand marshal is Robin Sewell, host of Arizona Highways Television.
The parade theme is: “Steers & Stripes” with
Arizona Highways Television Host Robin Sewell as the grand marshal. On
Saturday the main event activities are the same, but include the additions
of a Western Barbeque, and the first performance of the Senior Professional
Rodeo held at 2:00 p.m. at the Everett Bowman Arena, located off of Constellation
Road, just one mile east of the downtown area. Admission is $10 adults,
$8 seniors, $6 students, children $3, and under 5 Free. Gates open at
Noon. Again this year is the addition of the Grand Canyon PRCA Rough
Stock to the rodeo. On Saturday night, the popular “Arizona
Outlaws” is the band playing on Saturday night inside the Wickenburg
Community Center from 8:30 p.m. –Midnight for the Gold Rush Days
rodeo dance with great music. Admission is $8 / $15 couple
Sunday, the activities include the arts/crafts area, gold panning, family
carnival, rodeo performance, melodrama, and special day events such as
the Young Life Pancake Breakfast at 7:30 am – 11 am inside the
Community Center; traditional Mining events - Mucking & Drilling
Contest at 10:00 a.m. where contestants compete for money and prizes
and spectators can bid in a Calcutta Auction for a contestant; and the
Arizona Gold Panning Championship, where contestants compete for money
and prizes while panning for gold starts at 1:00 p.m. The second
performance of the Senior Pro Rodeo is at 2 p.m.
This annual celebration is one of the Signature Heritage events for Wickenburg,
and was named recently as Arizona’s Best Special Rural Event by the
Arizona Office of Tourism. This event was also in the Library
of Congress, named as one of America’s Living Legacies. For
more Information, and tickets call (928) 684-5479 or visit the event
on www.wickenburgchamber.com. Tickets
for the Webb Center concert call 928-684-6624
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"Congratulations on your inclusion in the 2010 Best of the West from American Cowboy Magazine. Our editors look for events like yours that inspire folks to get out and enjoy the Western Way. Our readership reaches over 300,000 across the US and abroad.
There is something comforting about walking into a room full of cowboys. It’s that sense of belonging that comes with the familiar smell of worn leather and the glistening championship buckles. Yes, the cowboy spirit lives on.
Attend one (or many) of these 101 events, and you’ll reaffirm your place in the Western Way. We’ve got your 2010 dose of cowboy culture- from art and music, to food and poetry, to rodeos and stock shows. So shine your best boots and put on your hat. It’s cowboy time!"
American Cowboy Magazine- Best of the West Event
February/March 2010
Bill Garrels
Publisher
American Cowboy Magazine
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