Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering

Re-live the sights and sounds of the old west at The Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering held every Presidents Day Weekend in historic Ellensburg, WA. We celebrate our cowboy and ranching heritage by bringing in the best cowboy musicians and poets, hand-crafted gear and art for your home on the range, and events for all ages that demonstrate the way things were done in the days of the cowboy.

The list of performers slated to take the stage for 2011 are a "Who's Who" in the world of cowboy music and storytelling - Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, The Sons of the San Joaquin, Rich O'Brien, Dave Stamey, Juni Fisher, Doris Daley and Oregon buckaroo girl, Adrian Brannan. Concerts are held at the CWU Music Building on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening and at the Kittitas Valley Event Center on Saturday afternoon.

Our first ever Chuck Wagon Cook-off brings authentic, restored wagons from the western states and Canada to Ellensburg. Learn more about the cooking methods these ranchers used on cattle drives and get to sample some of that tasty grub. We've also added a Ranch Roping Event and Rough Stock Jackpot that will be held at Bloom Pavilion at the Fairgrounds. More events at the Fairgrounds are the Rodeo Cowboy Reunion, highlighting rodeo legend Dean Oliver; a Western Gear & Art Show; Workshops and Demos; a Fiddle Contest; Kid's Corral; Western and Square Dances and Cowboy Church on Sunday morning. On Friday and Saturday afternoon, there will be free performances by regional entertainers at five downtown locations.

Come and learn more about the Code of the West, the Cowboy Code, an unwritten code of ethics that shaped the life of every true cowboy. These core principles of honesty, loyalty, courage and love of the land are what fuel the music, poetry and art that are brought to Ellensburg every February.