Folk Festival celebrates artisans

The first major folk festival in Wyoming in 20 years will be held Aug. 1-2 in Hot Springs State Park, Thermopolis.

The Big Horn Basin Folk Festival includes a juried folk & fine arts show/sale, trading post sale area, food vendors, music performances both days, a mountain man camp with outdoor activities, and more than two dozen demonstrators and try-it-yourself hands-on activities for all ages.

"This celebration honors our artisans and skilled crafts persons, especially in the middle and northern part of the state," said Annie Hatch, Wyoming Arts Council folk arts specialist. "This is an opportunity to recognize the people who live, work and create here."

The festival is one of the largest gatherings of crafts persons recognized for quality by the state of Wyoming and Wyoming Arts Council. It includes members of the Wyoming Artist Roster, individuals who have received Arts Council apprenticeship awards, and participants from the recent Art of the Hunt events.

"This is a rare opportunity to see so many of our state's skilled crafts people in one place," said Annie Hatch. "Many don't participate in a typical art festival or sale. They may never produce enough to sell. Or they may reserve what they make for family and friends."

Buffalo Bill Boycott and Shoshone elder Willie LeClair will be performing Saturday.

There will be regional musicians, arts and crafts demonstrations, juried art show and sale, Kiwanis Trading Post, mountain man camp, chainsaw artist Roy Pilcher and David Osmundsen with his portable forge fashioning metal art.

There will be a number of workshops throughout the two days including Basque dance, gourd painting, quilting, spinning, weaving, sewing, taxidermy and rope making.

Wall hangings based on images from Old Trail Town in Cody and the Wyoming west and the Rainbow Snake Project 18 ft. mural made by Thermopolis Middle School students will be on display.

The festival is sponsored by Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation with support from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Hot Springs Travel & Tourism, Thermopolis Community Fund and Wyoming Arts Council.

For more information visit http://www.wyomingfolkfestival.com.