Kids activities galore at Big Horn Basin Folk Festival

The Fifth Annual Big Horn Basin Folk Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 3 and 4, in Hot Springs State Park. The festival includes music, storytelling and recollections, art activities and demonstrations for all ages, a craft fair and trading post, and food vendors.

There are lots of activities for kids of all ages at the festival on both Saturday and Sunday, starting with local favorite John Herrin teaching how to rope a steer head. Look for John near the Art Activity Tent to learn how to rope like a cowboy on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. On Saturday, from noon to 2 p.m. near the Art Activity Tent, Smoking Waters Art Guild member Cindy Clancy will guide kids in painting rocks. Clancy is also a local favorite known for her themed painting on saws, kitchenware, and other artifacts. Storytellers will be telling children’s’ stories that are fun for all ages at the Storytelling Circle on Saturday from 2-3 p.m. and Sunday from 1-2 p.m. The Color Thermopolis Mural will be set up all day, near the Storytelling Circle, on both days, too.

Families can learn to country swing dance with Nikole Wohlmacher at 3 p.m. at the pavilion on Saturday. Wohlmacher, from Lander, is a regular host of country western swing dancing there. Come back to the Pavilion on Saturday around 7:30 p.m., after the Gift of the Waters Pageant, for Scary Stories in the Park. Storytellers, ghosts and ghouls will tell spine tingling tales. Come if you dare!

The Sunday lineup of kids’ activities starts with the steer head roping with Herrin near the Art Activity Tent at 10 a.m. At 11 a.m. in the Master Craftmens’ Tent, kids can make a leather bookmark with Von Ringler, who hails from Clark and is well known for his custom leather designs. The Storytellers will be at the Storytelling Circle again at 1 p.m., with fun tales for all ages. And join V, the Gypsy Cowbelle for a musical play and a sing along using handmade instruments by the Art Activity Tent from 2-3:30 p.m.

There will also be full days of musical performances, storytelling and historical retelling, craft demonstrations, an art and crafts fair, the trading post, and food vendors. The festival is open to the public without charge, and food will be available throughout the day on both days.

The festival is held the same weekend as the Gift of the Waters Pageant Days. The Pageant tells how the hot springs were given to the state by the Native Americans on the Wind River Reservation. It will be performed starting around 6 pm in the area around the Big Spring, Saturday and Sunday evening.

Contact bighornbasinfolkfestival@gmail.com for specific inquiries or visit wyomingfolkfestival.com. Applications for vendor space in the Kiwanis Art Fair and the Trading Post can be downloaded from the festival website. Applications will be accepted through July 27.

Note: The schedule and lineups are subject to change. A more detailed roster of artists, performers, and programs will be published closer to the event. Look for the program insert in the August 1 Thermopolis Independent Record.